Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Muscat: Oman’s 10th Five-Year Development Plan is aligned in achieving the objectives of Vision 2040, which aims for long-term economic sustainability and growth in the country.
“There is consistency and conformity at various stages between the 10th Five-Year Plan and Oman Vision 2040, so that the plan is able to execute the objectives of the vision,” said Air Commodore (ret.) Nasser bin Juma Al Zedjali, who heads the Work Team for Labour Market and Employment Prioritisation.
“Several programmes have been amended so that they match with the vision,” he added, speaking to Shabiba FM, the radio station of Al Shabiba, the Arabic publication of the Times of Oman.
“We understand that there are changes during the stage of preparation of the plan, mainly in the labour market which makes working on the plan a continued effort.”
He added that the Ministry of Economy has a mechanism to implement changes to the plan to ensure consistency with the vision. The Implementation and Follow-up Unit plays a great role to ensure that the five-year plans are in harmony with Oman Vision 2040.
“Prior to my involvement in the work team, I had engaged with the National Defence College and we are one of the entities assigned with evaluation of Oman Vision 2040, alongside other parties including Sultan Qaboos University and other international institutions,” he said.
“We aspire to achieve the aspirations of citizens and I believe that the government is working as a team to implement the programmes and vision under the Royal Care of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik,” he added. “Under collective efforts, we will achieve the target objectives.”
Work on the tenth five-year plan started with guidance from Oman Vision 2040, he said, explaining that Oman Vision 2040 has identified the strategic goals and pillars covering 20 years from the year 2021 to 2040. Oman has followed the five-year plan method of development and has therefore made sure they conform to Oman Vision 2040.
“The plan of the work team was to set an action plan and to prepare strategic programmes that meet the objectives of Oman Vision 2040 during its first five years,” explained Al Zedjali. “A central team has been formed to set the action plans and to review a number of visions and to evaluate the ninth five-year plan, which was established on the principles of partnership and the participation of a number of stakeholders, including citizens, the government, the civil society and the private sector.”
The visions and development plans usually cover all aspects related to development, he said, with Oman Vision 2040 focusing on fourteen priorities/programmes. “Oman Vision 2040 was established to a great extent on the tenth five-year plan,” he said. “However, in the tenth five-year plan, there are programmes that should not be fully implemented. Only those aspects that serve the overall objectives must be rolled out.”
“Some programmes may be affected by current legislations and finance, but the follow-up unit is relentlessly working on provision of solutions to this effect,” he added. “There are certain programmes concerned with the labour market that we seek to carry out and implement before January 2022.”
Mahmoud bin Humaid Al Wahaibi, a member of the Work Group of Cities and Governorates, who is also an urban planning expert at regional level, said that the consistency between the tenth five-year plan and Oman Vision 2040 has always taken into account the executive plan of the national urban development strategy.
“The strategic planning of any country/state starts with the plan of what we want as a country, represented by Oman Vision 2040, which has set the strategic objectives for the next 20 years,” he revealed. “This is followed by the planning for all governorates in the Sultanate, which is adopted by the National Strategy of Urban Development that acts as a roadmap for Vision 2040.”
