The Office of Majlis Ash’shura convened its seventh regular meeting for the first annual session under the leadership of Khalid bin Hilal al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis Ash’shura, on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the Office examined the minutes of its meeting with the Ministerial Coordination Committee, which took place at the Secretariat-General of the Council of Ministers. It also scrutinized the ministerial responses to several parliamentary inquiries raised by members of Majlis Ash’shura.
Furthermore, the Office assessed the reply given by Dr Khalfan bin Said al Shueili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, to a parliamentary query concerning planning regulations for construction on agricultural lands. The minister emphasized that the organization of residential plans and their distribution across the various wilayats of the Sultanate of Oman is guided by systematic planning controls, with Ministerial Decision (220/2023) enabling the conversion of agricultural lands for other purposes while highlighting the importance of providing essential services for residential developments. He also mentioned that the regulations allow for the establishment of agricultural projects upon obtaining approval from the relevant authorities.
The Majlis Ash’shura Office also examined a briefing request presented to the Chairman of the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) concerning the financial and economic losses incurred by Fisheries Development Oman. The request sought information on the monitoring mechanisms for overseeing state-owned enterprises, the count of foreign workers, the rate of Omanization achieved by the conclusion of 2023, and the extent of financial losses documented up to the start of the current year.
