Those countries and nations are considered highly fortunate which have sincere, hardworking, able, dedicated, committed leadership and Oman is among one of them. Omani leadership formulated a policy of neutrality, avoided conflicts, promoted peace, tolerance and harmony and played a very important role bringing various countries closer to remove their differences by dialogue and paved the way for strong future development scenario and durable peace in the region.
The story of Oman is the story of 53 years successful journey of progress, prosperity and development. The half century success of Oman is amazing and it became a role model for other countries in steady and continuous policies and fully implementation of these. Oman’s leadership has a vision to convert it into a modern, technology based, developed country without sacrificing its magnificent traditions, values, rich culture and its religion which gives the message of universal brotherhood, tolerance and peace. Oman believes in trade, investment, peace and avoiding conflict, war, controversy. Its foreign policy is very balanced and it has friendly relations with all its neighbors. It introduced electronic election system and social protection law recently, guarantees the implementation of Oman’s vision and policy of adequate insurance coverage for various segments of society. is Majesty the Sultan expressed this attention during his Royal speech at the opening of the first annual sitting of the 8th Term of the Council of Oman, as His Majesty said, “We envisage that the Social Protection System, recently introduced, will be comprehensive, extending its benefits to all segments of society, thereby guaranteeing a dignified life for all”.
Among other duties, the Social Protection Fund encompasses several programs, which will be implemented next January 2024. Most of these programs do not require social research, like endorsing cash benefits for the elderly, children, people with disabilities, orphans, and widows. The scheme also includes family income support, social insurance programs that secure support for the elderly, cases of disability, death, work-related injuries, occupational diseases, and job security, in addition to maternity, sick, and unscheduled leaves.
The Social Protection Law achieves well-being for the people of Oman by the provisions of the Basic Law of the State and the goals of Oman Vision 2040 that pertain to social aspects.
Since the outset of its blessed renaissance, the Sultanate of Oman has advocated the view that education constitutes the edifice that secures and fortifies nations’ present and future. Therefore, Oman accorded top importance to education so that it could tap its benefits and reap its fruits.
To this effect, Oman proceeded with bolstering education by introducing the latest instruments and methods to expand its scope. Oman Vision 2040 gives priority to “education, learning, scholarly research, and national capabilities”. Acting within the context of the vision’s first theme titled “Man and Society”, Oman embarked on implementing comprehensive education, sustainable learning, and scholarly research that leads to the evolution of a knowledge-based society and competitive national human resources. The Royal philosophy stems from the fact that educational institutions, research, and cultural centers at all levels constitute the foundation of society's scientific and intellectual advancement, and act as drivers for our technological and industrial progression.
The overall approach is to continue empowering the education sector, linking educational curricula to the requirements of economic growth broadening opportunities for our youth to help them engage in scientific expertise, and immersing themselves in the broad realms of science and knowledge. The youth of Oman are encouraged to utilize their cognitive and intellectual abilities for contesting creative and innovative endeavors, thereby laying a robust groundwork for authentic investment and establishing themselves as leaders in economic growth. This approach was evidenced by the issuance of the School Education Law in May 2023. The law states that “The greatest goal of school education in the Sultanate of Oman is to achieve comprehensive and integrated development of the learner’s personality in terms of mental, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects.”
Oman’s visionary, committed, dedicated and sincere leadership had given top priority to advancement in education, science and technology. It is well aware that without having access to quality education for all without discrimination as education is not a privilege , it is basic right for all citizen, prioritizing science and technology advancement, no country can survive, develop and prosper without it. Oman has initial initiatives on technologies and investments approved by various entities to support innovation and keep leaping with the developments of the fourth industrial revolution. These initiatives are executed by providing effective applications that contribute to the finding of innovative solutions to enhance performance and increase efficiency in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing, Virtual Reality Applications, and other procedures that are considered a paradigm shift in supporting the advancement of entities performance. Oman now is ready to move into its next stage of smarter development that thriving culture of innovation that support rapid advances across society, the economy, and the environment. Oman laws and legislations have given significant importance to managing innovation and technological approaches. By the way of this, the National Center for Statistics and Information has recently issued the National Data Strategy, aiming at enhancing the economic, social, cultural, and developmental benefits of data.
Oman's National Innovation strategy aims to transform the national economy to be led by innovation rather than highly dependent on oil and gas by sponsoring an effective national innovation eco-system that meets the aspired socio-economic sustainable development that is aligned with global standards. And by enabling the environment via establishing readiness of digital services, facilitating research and development expenditure, ensuring government effectiveness and innovation leadership, and having coherent policies, enabling pillars through the need for an effective intellectual property system, putting in place adequate infrastructure and logistics. As such, encouraging innovation linkages and collaboration, innovation drivers which consist of entrepreneurial education, R&D and innovation capacity building, qualified workforce, knowledge transfer, leading private sector, and direct foreign investment, strategic pillars that contain human capital and economic diversification, while human capital is the key to economic diversification. Taking the Sultan Qaboos University as an example for the Oman entities outlining cleaner, more productive, and competitive products on technology and innovation, the Internet of Things Laboratory at the university performs as a platform for developing different IoT applications in smart cities and finding smart solutions based on ICT and latest digital technologies. As such, the lab is aiming to transform the campus into a smart one and enhance the application of IoT technology in Oman.
Omani government and leadership have set number of priorities for the development, progress and prosperity of their nation and EDUCATION is among them is on top of priorities. Omani leadership has a vision to convert its country into a knowledge-based society. L Developing the different levels of the educational system and improving educational outcomes have become necessary to build Omanis’ confidence in their identity and commitment to their social values. This is attainable through increasing the quality of basic and higher education and developing scientific and educational curricula,
so that graduates are acquainted with competitive qualifications and employability skills to enter the local and a leap is required in quality and quantity in the domain of scientific research and development, through the international labour market. Such graduates will have an adequate level of productivity and competitiveness to build a knowledge-based economy, enhance job security in the private sector and foster a participatory relation between the private and the public sectors. In addition to this, a developed educational system also entails the development of educational institutions, faculty and staff, the application of international standards for accreditation, the use of modern teaching and learning techniques, and the dissemination thereof as national culture. Provision of diverse and sustainable sources of funding to support applied scientific researches to promote
innovation in various fields and strengthen partnership between the academic and research institutions on the one hand and the private sector on the other. The various stakeholders need to join forces to promote the role of citizens and society in advancing economic development. This necessitates the establishment of a stimulating educational and vocational training system to afford individuals high-level skills to enter the labour market, raise their productivity and improve the efficiency of the economy in general. Values of competition and qualification should prompt individuals to seek high-ranking jobs based entirely on merit. This implies adherence to institutional values and a performance-based qualification system.
Another aspect of joining forces also entails maximizing national capabilities through a national system established to nurture talent, creativity and entrepreneurial potential.
Sultan Haitham bin Tarik now following the footsteps of Sultan Qaboos and has commitment to take Oman towards a new height of development, progress and prosperity. I am proud that I am part of efforts to enhance Pakistan Oman friendship and contributed numbers of columns and creating awareness among Pakistan youth about brother Islamic country Oman. His Excellency Engineer Sami Abdullah Alkhanjri , Consul General of Oman is very kind to me and always encouraged my efforts. I wish the best of luck for the people, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and other leadership of Oman and pray almighty Allah for the integrity , development and progress of Oman and longevity of its Sultan.