Nazdaher
Programme Highlights Oman’s Drive to Boost Private-sector Competitiveness

Muscat,
8 Oct (ONA) — The National Programme for the Development of the Private
Sector and Foreign Trade (Nazdaher) reviewed the efforts aimed at consolidating
the position of the Sultanate of Oman as an attractive destination for the
private sector.

Nazdaher
highlighted the reforms and initiatives undertaken to enhance Oman’s
competitiveness in international indices related to private-sector development
and to enable the private sector to undertake its central role in achieving
sustainable economic growth.

During
a media gathering held at its headquarters in Muscat, the programme affirmed
that it is one of the accelerated and intensive national initiatives
established to achieve Oman Vision 2040, serving as a short-term executive arm
of the first phase of the implementation plan for the economy and development
pillar.

Khalid
Said Al Shuaibi, Head of Nazdaher, stated that the programme aims to enable the
Sultanate of Oman to become a competitive and active destination in both local
and global trade systems, through the development of an empowered private
sector that leads a competitive economy integrated with the global economy.

Al
Shuaibi explained that during its first phase (2021–2023), the programme
focused primarily on attracting local and foreign private investments,
enhancing the business environment in the Sultanate of Oman, and developing
investments across the various sectors of economic diversification. Among the
key achievements was the development and modernisation of a National Investment
Matrix for the Sultanate of Oman to measure the economic impact of investments
in line with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040, for which an intellectual
property certificate was obtained. The programme also conducted a comprehensive
review of all procedures, regulations, and systems related to the investor
journey, with the aim of providing all necessary facilitations and tools to
enable investment in the economic diversification sectors.

In
addition, several initiatives were developed and handed over to the Ministry of
Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for implementation. These included
the National Negotiation Team, the National Investment Strategy, the Invest
Oman platform, the Investment Incentives Guide, the Investment Map, the
Fast-Track Path, the Investor Residency Programme, and the Investment Sector
Performance Monitoring Framework, which monitors investment sectors in line
with investment targets amounting to around RO 11 billion. The programme also
followed up on the progress of investment projects and enabling initiatives,
addressing challenges in key sectors such as food security, mining, energy,
manufacturing, tourism, sports, health, logistics and information and
communication technology.

The
Head of Nazdaher confirmed that, as part of the national efforts aimed at
creating a competitive, diversified, and integrated economy, the national team,
comprising representatives from Nazdaher, OQ Group, Ministry of Commerce,
Industry and Investment Promotion and the Public Establishment for Industrial
Estates (Madayn), successfully developed and marketed the Ladayn Polymer Park
locally and internationally, attracting investors to this promising sector. The
complex is considered one of the most strategic industrial projects at the
national level, aiming to achieve self-sufficiency in plastic products in the
Sultanate of Oman and strengthen the country’s position on the global stage in
this field. The complex will support the local industrial sector by providing
new value-added products, opening the door for the development of similar
industries in the future.

Al
Shuaibi added that the project team has so far succeeded in securing 19
investment agreements for establishing industrial projects within the complex,
with a total value exceeding $160 million (RO 61.5 million). The project was
officially adopted by OQ Group at the beginning of this year to ensure the
continuity of operations in accordance with the required standards and to
strengthen the prospects of success for the planned projects.

He
stated that a proactive methodology had been developed for targeting investors
and forming a specialised working team led by the Ministry of Commerce,
Industry and Investment Promotion, with members from various relevant entities,
including Nazdaher. This team succeeded in securing investments worth more than
RO 1.5 billion in Duqm and Sohar, including the Jindal Shadeed Iron and Steel
Complex in Duqm and the United Solar Polysilicon Plant in the Sohar Free Zone.

All
investment-promotion tasks, databases, and technical reports were subsequently
handed over to MoCIIP, represented by the Invest Oman Lounge, to continue the
work within the national investment-attraction framework.

Furthermore,
37 investment opportunities with a total value of RO 828 million were developed
across seven sectors by the Investment Development Team and are now being
promoted through Invest Oman. The programme also worked on developing new
investment sectors, including the cultural sector, in cooperation with the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, and with the support of specialised
international expertise.

A
comprehensive ten-year investment strategy was developed for the cultural and
creative industries sector through intensive workshops, resulting in three
major investment projects and five promising investment opportunities with a
total value of approximately RO 19 million, in addition to 12 enabling
initiatives aimed at enhancing national capabilities and developing this vital
sector.

The
Head of Nazdaher noted that these initiatives focus on four main pillars, which
are, creative skills education, creative trade, creative infrastructure, and
financing and legislation.

He
further explained that an executive programme for the foreign trade system was
developed to achieve international performance indicators and the Oman Vision
2040 targets for foreign trade. A total of 14 initiatives were launched to
strengthen foreign trade in the areas of exports, imports, and re-exports, in
collaboration with the Ministry.

Al
Shuaibi also pointed out that Nazdaher is part of the national team responsible
for improving the Business Readiness Index, a new methodology developed by the
World Bank to assess the business environment across up to 180 countries. This
type of indicator serves as a tool to promote and attract foreign investment
while also encouraging local investment. He clarified that the index comprises
three main pillars: the regulatory framework, which represents the legislative
environment; the public service framework, which covers service delivery; and
efficiency, which reflects how effectively both frameworks are integrated in
practice. Each pillar is measured through ten themes covering the lifecycle of
a business, in preparation for the World Bank’s evaluation process scheduled to
take place in phases during 2025.

He
added that Nazdaher has developed a clear methodology to address existing gaps
by analysing around 750 key indicators, including 1,370 sub-indicators, related
to business readiness. This analysis led to the identification of 24 immediate
reform initiatives, most of which have already been completed in coordination
with the relevant authorities, as well as 17 improvement and incentive
initiatives scheduled for completion during 2025–2026, in cooperation with more
than 22 government entities.

Al
Shuaibi explained during the media briefing that in the second phase, ‘The
National Programme for the Development of the Private Sector and Foreign Trade
2024–2025,’ the programme worked on designing a strategic framework to ensure
the integration of national efforts. He clarified that this has been achieved
through a focus on developing new initiatives for the development of the
private sector both locally and internationally, in line with the objectives of
the Private Sector, Investment, and International Cooperation Priority. This is
being implemented in collaboration with relevant entities and through the
active participation of private-sector representatives from different
industries and company sizes. He added that the programme initially focused on
assessing the current situation and subsequently developing packages of
initiatives for 2025.

He
noted that the current initiatives under the private-sector track revolve
around establishing the necessary platforms for engaging the private sector in
economic decision-making. This includes forming a specialised technical team
representing the private sector under the umbrella of OCCI to participate in
economic policymaking affecting private enterprises, proposing a governance and
sustainability mechanism for family businesses, supporting the growth of
medium-sized companies into large enterprises through sectoral accelerator programmes,
enhancing the competitiveness of Omani products and services domestically and
enabling their global reach through the strengthening of standards, conformity,
and quality infrastructure, activating the Omani Quality Mark, and developing
mutual recognition programmes with other countries.

Regarding
the Foreign Trade Track, Al Shuaibi explained that this stream aims to develop
initiatives and tools that enable the private sector to maximise the benefits
of trade agreements through interactive platforms, smart guidance manuals, and
trade-exchange programmes with selected markets. It also seeks to establish a
flexible and scientific mechanism for evaluating international economic
partnerships at the strategic level.

As
for the Local Value Chain and Economic Sector Development Track, Al Shuaibi
stated that Nazdaher, in cooperation with relevant entities including the
National Programme for Economic Diversification, the Public Authority for
Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ), and other related organisations,
is working to build comprehensive concepts for integrated economic clusters.
These include the Integrated Aluminium Industries Cluster in Sohar, the
Integrated Shaleem Minerals Cluster, the Qurayyat Fisheries Industries Cluster
and the South Al Sharqiyah Fisheries Economic Cluster, the Integrated Cold
Chain Cluster in Duqm, and the Agricultural Cities Governance Framework aimed
at developing the Najd Agricultural Economic Cluster.

He
explained that this process follows a technical working methodology that
involves preparing detailed fact sheets for each cluster, followed by technical
and financial analyses of infrastructure readiness, identifying
investment-incentive requirements according to targeted investment
opportunities within the clusters, and calculating the expected economic impact
of each cluster. These steps pave the way for investor-oriented efforts in
coordination with the specialised national teams.

With
regard to the International Competitiveness Improvement Track, Al Shu’aibi affirmed
that efforts continue to improve Oman’s rankings in international economic
indices related to the private sector, particularly the Business Readiness
Index.

—Ends/AG