The Sultanate of Oman also puts faith on the decentralization
The Sultanate of Oman reaffirmed its commitment to the decentralization and strengthening of governorates during the National Forum on Decentralization and Empowerment of Governorates, which gathered in Masqat senior officials, governors, municipal leaders, private sector representatives, and international experts within the framework of the national “Oman Vision 2040” plan. The forum, held in the presence of Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal Al Busaidi, Minister of Interior, responds to the directives of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq to consolidate governorates as driving forces of economic and social development.
Over the two days of the forum, strategic topics were discussed, such as local economic development, investment attraction, job creation, the strengthening of capacities at the territorial level and the innovation in the local and regional governments management. The emphasis was placed on the importance of transforming the administration into an active instrument for the progress of each region. The event featured international experts from China, the United States, and several European countries, who shared experiences and governance models applicable to the Omani context, promoting global cooperation for practical and sustainable solutions.
Carles Llorens, Secretary-General of ORU Fogar, was one of the guests. He delivered a plenary presentation entitled “Decentralization and Development”, in which he showed the bond between both concepts, supported by reports from international organizations such as UNPD, OECD and UN-Habitat. During his intervention, Llorens presented the report developed by ORU Fogar on the occasion of the Forum on Development Financing held in July, in Seville, in which it was detailed the percentage of national budget managed by the regions in order to develop a ranking of countries by their level of decentralization. According to the report, the countries heading the ranking, including Germany, India, United Sates and China, where also the ones who presented the higher level of economic and social development. At the same time, the countries at the bottom, where regions manage a smaller percentage of the national budget, are the least developed, primarily located in Africa and Latin America.
Llorens concluded by affirming that the current interest in decentralization does not stem from a new idea, but from longstanding practices that are gaining relevance because society perceives that they can help address current crises and challenges and also because citizens need governments of proximity, governments that are more near of their realities and necessities.
The forum facilitated direct dialogue among governors, municipal leaders, ministry representatives, the investment authority and private sector actors, generating concrete implementation pathways to convert territorial opportunities into tangible economic outcomes. The experience of the event reaffirmed the importance of paradiplomacy as a tool to connect governorates with international knowledge networks, encouraging innovative solutions that push forward development and bring Oman closer to the objectives of Vision 2040.
The forum also opened the possibility for ORU Fogar to work in the Sultanate in the near future.
