Oman sets new ministries, restructures government
Oman’s Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said issued 28 new royal decrees on Tuesday, establishing ministries, merging and renaming some of the ministries, among others.
Among the decrees announced were establishing the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and defining their functions and approving their organizational structure.
The Royal Decrees also amended the names of the following ministries:
1) Ministry of Oil and Gas to the Ministry of Energy and Minerals
2) Ministry of Housing to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning
3) Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to the Ministry of Agricultural, Fisheries and Water Resources,
4) Ministry of Heritage and Culture to the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism,
5) Ministry of Trade and Industry to the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Investment Promotion
Decrees also defined the terms of reference and the organisational structure of each ministry in the goverment.
A Royal Decree also merged the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Legal Affairs into one ministry called the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, defining its terms of reference and approving its organizational structure.
Oman’s Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said took over at the beggining of this year after the late Sultan Qaboos.
Sultan Haitham promised that the new goverment will work on reducing public debt and fiscal deficit, as well as restructuring the public apparatus and companies, calling on his citizens to “give us your trust”.
Internally the goverment will focus on modernizing the education system, science and development. They would be the country’s main national priorities.
