More than 200 exhibitions held in Oman last year

Muscat: More than 200 exhibitions were held during the year 2022 in all governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, said the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion.

The Ministry called on business owners, companies and institutions operating in the exhibitions sector to reconcile their statuses by the end of March 2023, according the Ministerial Resolution No. (527/2022) regarding the regulations for organising and managing exhibitions.

The regulations have witnessed a number of amendments that came to keep pace with the current conditions and entitlements in the Sultanate of Oman and to provide more facilitation for the companies organising exhibitions and conferences and encourage them to expand and diversify in holding exhibitions and conferences and attract them to the Sultanate of Oman.

The regulation will contribute to strengthening partnership between the public and private sectors in order to encourage attracting investments in line with the objectives of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and investment promotion to stimulate the local economy, encourage local capital and attract foreign investments.

The Ministry stated that one of the most prominent amendments to the regulation was the addition of a number of exhibitions, which are “innovative exhibitions”, represented in a commercial exhibition that displays and sells various products and services in an innovative way that differs from other types of exhibitions, in addition to adding an “Exhibition of Gulf Products and Industries” and an amendment to “specialised exhibitions”.

The regulation clarified the mechanism for granting a permit to hold consumer exhibitions through the bidding by the competent authority regarding the organization of these exhibitions.

The regulation emphasised that its provisions do not apply to exhibitions of paintings, photography, and cultural exhibitions held by universities, colleges, schools, and exhibitions selling used books organised for charitable purposes, provided that a licence is obtained from the competent authority.