The Council on Wednesday issued a statement on various issues discussed at the meetings held till the middle of January.
Acting in accordance with the Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to proceed with economic and social development, the Council also approved the establishment of a comprehensive database for companies that are awarded government projects.
The Council considered the allocation of special areas for agricultural investment and approved the Regional Municipalities and Water Resources Ministry's Food Safety Centre as a monitoring institution for foodstuff and agricultural products.
The plan included feasibility studies for agriculture and fisheries projects and the designation of areas for livestock sale central markets.
During one of its recent meetings, the Council tackled other issues of concern to citizens.
It supported recommendations made by the State Council on activating the role of museums as landmarks of human history, noting that the new Heritage Law covers all requirements for protecting the Sultanate's heritage.
It also supported the recommendations of the Majlis Al Shura on developing the tourism sector.
It instructed public sector units to develop and utilise e-government channels to provide better communication between the government and citizens.
Stressing on the significance of transferring new advanced international technology to the Sultanate, the Council approved the localisation of railway industries as part of the country's modernisation policy espoused by the government.
The statement said, "Within the context of the attention accorded by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said to further enhance the Sultanate's economic and social development and maximise benefits from services being offered to citizens, the Council recently held a number of meetings during which it discussed means of achieving the highest possible levels of growth."
"In pursuance of the government's keenness to ensure the availability of staple foods and the stability of their prices, the Council of Ministers has stressed the importance of addressing hindrances posed to food safety projects. The plan includes the allocation of special areas for agricultural investment, the drafting of a comprehensive list of feasible agriculture and fishery projects and the designation of suitable areas for the setting up of central livestock sale markets, along with related basic services," it said.
The statement further said, "In implementation of its previous decisions, the Council of Ministers has approved the activation of the Food Safety Centre at the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources.
The Centre will be empowered to undertake analysis and monitoring of foodstuff and consumer agricultural products in the local market.
It also gave directives to enhance service and research laboratories at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as agriculture and water laboratories at the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources. It also directed the departments concerned to undertake legal and procedural steps to safeguard public health from the impacts of farm pesticides."
"To complement the efforts being exerted by the government, the Council was given a visual display of the projects being implemented by the government. It reviewed the progress of work and means of tackling obstacles posed to the execution of these projects in terms of procedural, geographic and environmental solutions. In this context, it approved the establishment of a comprehensive database for companies that are awarded government projects. It also approved the setting up of planning units at government departments concerned, with options for further expansion of these units as per the requirement of projects that are implemented," the statement added.
The Council also viewed a visual display presented by the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development on the means of attracting foreign investments to the Sultanate. Following this, it underlined the need to devise suitable mechanisms to allow a smooth flow of foreign investments and optimise benefits from the incentives offered by the government in this context.
To enhance the competitive capacity of the national economy and ensure the existence of a suitable work environment, the Council approved the system and organisational structure of the Public Authority for Industrial Estates.
This will help contribute to the Sultanate's sustainable economic and social development and keep pace with developments in the international arena.
As part of co-operation between the Council of Ministers and Oman Council, the former supported the recommendations made by the State Council on utilising museums and archaeological sites in fostering Oman's historical role, based on the unique human and civilisational value of these landmarks.
In this context, the Council reaffirmed that the new Heritage Law will cover all that is needed to protect Oman's tangible and intangible heritage.
The Council also agreed with most of the recommendations cited in the Majlis Al Shura's report on developing the tourism sector. The report dealt with unifying systems and programmes for developing the tourism sector.
The Council also reviewed the Global Competitiveness Report on Travel and Tourism and directed the departments concerned to continue efforts to improve the Sultanate's rating indicators, which influence external tourism marketing.
The Council's action took into account the significance of tourism as one of the country's economic diversification sectors, as well as this sector's potential in providing employment opportunities for citizens and investment opportunities for small and medium enterprises.
In view of the Sultanate's strong ties with most of the countries, the Council studied a review of the progress of work at joint committees between the Sultanate and friendly countries.
The review deals with means of developing these committees to enable them to utilise Oman's advanced relations in order to open new vistas of co-operation with other parties, which will reflect positively on all development tracks of the national economy, besides elevating Oman's regional and international status.
Following its approach on e-government transformation and on developing channels of communication between government departments and citizens, the Council issued directives to improve the performance of government departments, streamline procedures and activate customer service sections in order to speed up the implementation of transactions and remove hindrances as and when they occur.
To enhance the country's efforts to introduce new global technologies and advanced equipment for the sake of activating investment in the Sultanate, it has also approved the incorporation of a railway industries project in the government's policy of transferring sciences, knowledge and modern technology.
It has approved the Research Council's plan to merge the International Council for Science and the International Social Science Council.
The Council has forwarded to the Oman Council (Majlis Oman) a set of draft laws, including one on land transport, a draft of the unified law on protecting live water resources from harmful exploitation (which was prepared within the framework of the GCC states), and a draft of the GCC unified law for combating dumping and compensatory and preventive measures.
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Quelle/Source: Times of Oman, 14.01.2015
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