His Majesty presides over meeting of the Council of Ministers

His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik presided over a meeting of the Council of Ministers at Al Maamoura Palace in Salalah.

On regional and international affairs, and after referring to the firm principles of Oman’s long-standing foreign policy in maintaining international peace and security, the Cabinet praised the outcomes of the Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha. It condemned the Israeli occupation forces’ aggression against the sisterly State of Qatar, describing it as a blatant violation of Qatar’s national sovereignty and all international laws and norms, and affirmed its full solidarity with Qatar and support for all measures it takes in this regard.

The Cabinet also reaffirmed Oman’s resolute stance on the Palestinian cause and the situation in the occupied territories. It condemned the ongoing aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip, and rejected the deliberate targeting of innocent civilians, medical and relief teams, journalists, and the destruction of infrastructure in the Strip. It also denounced the systematic starvation of the population, the obstruction of humanitarian aid, and attempts to forcibly displace them — practices that constitute a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy and humanitarian principles. These actions undermine all regional and international efforts aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace that guarantees the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

The Cabinet also noted the recent high-level and official exchanges of visits with a number of sisterly and friendly countries, and underlined the importance of translating the signed agreements into concrete implementation programmes that serve the country’s development goals. It further highlighted Oman’s participation in various regional and international meetings and summits aimed at fostering dialogue and developing joint solutions that enhance cooperation, security and stability, and achieve common interests for all countries.

His Majesty the Sultan has directed that the sum previously allocated to support programmes and pathways for employing jobseekers in the private sector—particularly the wage support initiative—be doubled to an amount of RO 100 million, in light of the substantial uptake of these initiatives and programs by both the private sector and jobseekers.

The Council of Ministers emphasised the importance of enhancing the national employment platform “Tawteen” by establishing a suitable mechanism to increase the number of registered companies and finalising the linkage of its relevant databases. These measures aim to utilise the platform's data to create employment opportunities for citizens.

Launched in December 2024, “Tawteen” provides supply and demand data for positions, lists available job opportunities in the public and private sectors, and maintains data on job seekers.

His Majesty directed the creation of a new Undersecretary-level sector within the Ministry of Social Development. This sector will be responsible for supervising all initiatives aimed at improving services for persons with disabilities, addressing sector-specific challenges, promoting their effective empowerment and inclusion to enhance their role in societal development, and facilitating educational access across all levels.

His Majesty the Sultan has commended the outcomes and metrics delivered by the Tenth Five-Year Development Plan, along with the targets set for the Eleventh Plan. He praised the efforts of all units of the State Administrative Apparatus and the private sector, acknowledging their dedication to executing diverse development programs and projects. These collective efforts have substantially strengthened Oman’s fiscal position and economic performance, resulting in measurable progress across key economic indicators.

His Majesty the Sultan has highlighted the critical importance of consolidating the progress attained and of persistently maintaining the drive to elevate Oman's standing across these indicators. He reiterated the necessity of reinforcing economic and social stability, boosting the competitiveness of the national economy, and capitalising on the review and assessment of outcomes from the previous plan to realise the goals of Oman Vision 2040.

His Majesty also noted that the favourable results yielded by the current plan serve to bolster confidence in the nation's future development trajectories.

The Council of Ministers has examined the initial outcomes of the State General Budget for 2025, noting that the Gross Domestic Product at constant prices recorded growth of 3.4%, driven by enhanced value, added in non-oil activities.

The year further witnessed the introduction of various projects and programs in multiple social and economic development sectors. The Council reviewed the components of the draft State General Budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which constitutes the inaugural year of the Eleventh Five-Year Development Plan (2026-2030).

The Council of Ministers examined the outcomes of the Government Digital Transformation Program (2021-2025), highlighting key milestones such as the introduction of the unified national services portal, the approval of regulatory guidelines for digital governance, and the digitisation of 74% of all government services.

The program also featured the implementation of multiple artificial intelligence projects and positioned Oman as a regional hub for data processing and AI algorithm development. These collective efforts have elevated Oman's standing to 45th globally and 5th within the Middle East and North Africa region on the Government AI Readiness Index.

This is an unofficial English version of an Arabic report. To view the official Arabic text, click here.