Industry sector is cornerstone to Oman’s economic diversification

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, celebrates the Omani Industry Day on 9th February every year.

This year the Industry Day theme is “automation of factories and artificial intelligence”.

The celebration comes within the reaffirmation of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on the significance of making the Sultanate of Oman a leading investment destination within the framework of the change to sustainable economy.

It also comes within the importance of the industrial sector as a major cornerstone for economic diversification and achievement of the targets of Oman Vision 2040 and the global transformation towards the technologies of the 4th industrial revolution.

To mark the occasion, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion will organise on Wednesday a celebration in the Wilayat of Sohar, North Al Batinah Governorate.

The celebration would see the signing of a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding coupled with the launch of initiatives in different fields.

The agreements and memoranda of understanding are expected to boost the productivity and open new horizons in the field of innovation.

The statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed that the contribution of the manufacturing industries in the GDP amounted to 9.3 percent by the end of September 2023, a total of OMR2.454 billion at fixed prices and the direct foreign investments in the industrial sector exceeded OMR1.400 billion.

The Omani non-oil exports of goods amounted to OMR6.767 billion by the end of November 2023.

Dr. Saleh bin Said Masan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Commerce and Industry, said that the Ministry is working on a number of initiatives, including the automation of Omani factories and adoption of artificial intelligence. During the celebration of the Omani Industry Day for this year, some projects for upgrading the productivity of the sector would be announced, he added.

The Ministry has selected the theme “Automation of industries and artificial intelligence” for the celebration of the Omani Industry Day for this year to continue with the development march during the prosperous era and for opening new horizons for sustainable development, he said.