Muscat: A new programme, ‘Researcher Talks,’ has been created by the State Council to advise lawmakers on future legislation.
In an interview, Maryam Abdullah Al Hajri, general director of the programme, said, “The point of the talks is to review internal research, serving the legislating and regulating roles of the State Council.”
According to a statement by the State Council, “Thursday’s meeting was the first to be held by the Council’s Information and Research branch.”
Population demands in 2040, today’s logistics, and digital infrastructure were the topics discussed during the State Council meeting.
“We are looking at possibilities to publish the discussions and papers, or make them available to the public,” Al Hajri said, “but that would come at a later stage. Right now, it’s still in discussion.”
“The research is not really related to planning, or even a single topic. Keep in mind,” the General Director added, “That we are not speaking of academic research here, but parliamentary research. We talk about growth. Growth is split into two parts: economic and social growth. Both of these come under what? A legislative framework, yes?”
“All sectors of growth can be studied at our end, even things like castles, forts, or watering systems.”
“What the secretariat does is different from universities, for example. This time, the first two papers were ours. The last talk is part of a –hopefully– recurring segment we’re calling ‘an informative window,’ where we bring in someone from outside the State Council to present a talk.”
The third paper was not from the Centre of Research at the Council, but rather from the National Centre for Statistical Information (NCSI). The statement says, “It spoke of several possible projections for 2040’s population, as presented by Malik Salim al Rawahi, head of population Census at NCSI.”
Al Hajri, on her part, added, “This paper; in particular, presented the projected infrastructure and construction needs for these amounts of people; what we might need in terms of education, infrastructure, health, even in construction.”
The State Council’s statement said that Al Hajri herself, “initiated the programme by explaining its general idea, goals, and importance in building communication networks as related to researchers.”
She also explained that it is meant to, “Facilitate a periodic talking schedule,” where researchers could illustrate their findings.
The second paper, presented by researcher Huda Al Hinai, talked about telecom infrastructure, and recommended, “Supporting an increase in production and focusing on cooperating with the private sector, as well boosting the usage of digital infrastructure in health and education.”
The first research paper, reported by economic researcher Muhammed Salim Al Maslahi, recommended that the Council focus on raising the role of the Sultanate in the logistics’ global scene, since, “it is one of the most promising economic resources, and since most of its challenges can be resolved through administrative and technical means.”
The statement added, “Indices show that the Sultanate improved in logistics within the main section of revenue, while falling back when it came to competitive pricing, compared with last year.”
Using this paper as an example, Al Hajri said, “As you can see, such recommendations are not all about planning. They’re more about legislation and direction.”