National Forum on Local Value Inaugurated at Sultan Qaboos UniversityMuscat, 17 Nov 2025 (ONA) — The Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), represented by the College of Economics and Political Science, today organized the national forum “Empowering Oman from Within: Local Value as a Pillar for Sustainable Growth”.The opening of the forum was held under the patronage of HH Sayyid Dr. Fares bin Turki Al Said.The forum aims to enhance the standing of local content within the developmental planning system of the Sultanate of Oman by adopting the perspective of Environmental, Social, Economic, and Governance (ESEG) dimensions. It also seeks to stimulate structured dialogue on how to more effectively integrate local content into sustainability agendas, institutional development, and strategic partnerships, thereby supporting the achievement of “Oman Vision 2040.”The forum builds upon these efforts as a national platform for dialogue and the exchange of expertise among academics, experts, decision-makers, and representatives from the public and private sectors. It serves to discuss progress made and existing challenges, and to develop innovative visions and ideas that contribute to maximizing the economic, social, and environmental impact of local value.The forum featured three dialogue sessions addressing the topic from its various dimensions: the economic and social dimension, the governance and accountability dimension, and the environmental and sustainability dimension. It also included a presentation of scientific posters by a number of master’s students and faculty members, which highlighted innovative visions and applications in the field of local value and will support the next phase of implementing the national policy in this area.— Ends/AH