Saturday 27 / July / 2024
Muscat: The first Regular session of the fourth sitting of the sixth term (2015-2019) of Oman's State Council opened today, chaired by H.E. Dr. Yahya Bin Mahfoudh Al Manthri.
The Council Chairman at the beginning of the session, welcomed the Council members and congratulated them on the advent of the auspicious forty-eighth national day and prayed for the restoration of this national occasion, good health and happiness for His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and for the Omani people progress and prosperity.
H.E. Dr. Yahya Bin Mahfoudh Al Manthri extended his congratulations to His Majesty, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces for the remarkable success of the national military exercise ‘Al Shamouk 2’, carried out by the Sultan’s Armed, followed by the joint Omani UK military exercise ‘Swift Sword 3’. They proved the readiness of these military and organizational forces for developing national capacities and ensure harmony during the joint national work, he added.
Following this, H.E. Dr. Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Manthri, declared open the fourth annual session of the sixth period, recalling the many events and activities carried out by the Council in past which had received the cooperation from the technical devices of the Secretariat of the Council, which played a proactive role.
He appreciated and valued the cooperation received from the Council of Ministers and Majlis Shura and other competent authorities of the state, which enabled the overall meticulous performance.
In conclusion, he prayed for success for the Council to facilitate contributing to supporting the development process in the country under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
The Council then proceeded to discuss the topics of the session, after extensive discussions the Council approved the proposal which the Education and Research Committee sought to study, “Development of the regulation of private training institutions."
The Committee cited several reasons for the study, including: the need to develop specialized competencies responsible for licensing procedures for private training institutions, and the importance of enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the evaluation system in order to keep abreast of new developments while paying attention to the meticulous specialization in training. Training for trainers, and the need for comprehensiveness of the requirements of quality standards for the classification of these institutions. The study also aims at reviewing the legislations related to the organization of private training institutions, diagnosing the current reality related to registration and licensing mechanisms, reviewing the evaluation procedures of its services before and after licensing, and proposing suitable recommendations for developing the regulations of these institutions.
The Council also approved a proposal to establish two special committees to study " Enhancing the use of manpower in the public sector” and a proposal to study the “Promulgation of a law to regulate the application of biotechnology and its products and the protection of genetic data in the Sultanate. "
The proposal to study "Enhancing the use of manpower in the public sector" aims to propose the best ways, means and initiatives to optimize the workforce in this sector, to develop them properly and to transform them into productive manpower, and to analyze the roles and tasks of various government agencies (Measuring productivity), comparing them with the actual reality of human resources in the departments, identifying and addressing deficiencies and surpluses through redistribution, matching the requirements of digital transformation and e-government, and possible shifts in the nature of jobs as a result of the Fourth Revolution, and the importance of developing appropriate strategies and policies for the retraining and rehabilitation of employees according to the requirements of the the future.
As for the proposal to study the enactment of a law to regulate the use of biotechnology and its products and the protection of genetic data in the Sultanate, several reasons have been cited for the study: Absence of a law on biosafety in the Sultanate to ensure a safe level for human, animal, plant and environment health, applications and products of biotechnology, and the scarcity of specialized competencies to carry out the procedures for the examination and monitoring of the uses of biotechnology in the Sultanate, and the importance of this vital field for the advancement of life sciences, criminal science and medicine and its applications, Collection of biological samples, conservation and utilization, storage and disposal, as well as weak public environmental awareness of the dangers resulting from the misuse of biotechnology.
The study aims at providing legal protection for the genetic data of the society, reviewing legislation related to research and applications in the field of biotechnology and its products in the Sultanate. It includes diagnosing the current reality of the governmental procedures related to the biosafety rules related to the introduction, removal, transport, production, circulation and use of genetically modified organisms and their products which is adopted in the Sultanate for individuals and the environment, and adopted by institutions and companies working in the field of genetic engineering.
Subsequently, the Council discussed the articles bearing disagreement in the Draft Law “Selective Commodity Tax Law" transferred by the Council of Ministers and the report of the Joint Committee.
In response to the Royal orders of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, a joint session will be held tomorrow between the State Council and Majlis A’Shura, chaired by H.E. Dr. Yahya bin Mahfoudh Al Manthri, Chairman of the State Council to study and approve the articles of disagreement between the State Council of State and Majlis A’Shura pertaining to the Draft Law of Selective Goods Tax Law, referred by the Council of Ministers and the report of the Joint Committee thereon.
In addition, the Council reviewed a number of reports and replies received from a number of bodies, as well as a number of reports, including the report of the General Secretariat, a report on the meeting of the Bureau of the Council with the Heads of the Standing Committees and a report on the participation of the delegation of the State Council and Majlis A’Shura in the Sixth Annual Meeting of the General Secretariat of the Arab Parliaments held on 11-12 July 2018, the report of the Assistant Secretariat for meetings and committees during the third annual session of the sixth period, and a report on the activities of the Education and Research Committee during the third session of the sixth period, in addition to the topics presented by the General Secretariat assistance for Information and Research Center.
