'Governorates Competitiveness' Index is a strategic tool for directing investments

Muscat: The 'Governorates Competitiveness' Index - launched by His Highness Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, within the Governorates Economics Forum, is a strategic tool for directing investments and determining development priorities.

It will ensure the success of the goals of the Oman Vision 2040 and strengthen the national economy and maximise the economic and social impact of development projects.

Dr. Nasser bin Rashid Al Maawali, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, said that the index is a tool for measuring and evaluating the development performance of governorates, the capabilities and competitiveness of each governorate through a set of standards and indicators that cover economic and social aspects, infrastructure, education, health and other indicators.

In a statement to the Oman News Agency, he added that the index will provide a comprehensive picture of development performance and identify the gaps in each governorate, which will enhance decision-making based on accurate assessment of data and help direct policies and investments to reduce the disparities in some governorates.

It is expected that the index will enhance the competitiveness of the governorates and the sustainability of development.

He explained that the index is based on the four basic pillars of Oman Vision 2040, which are economy, development, people, society, governance, environment, and performance evaluation for the development of governorates and achieving the goals of Oman Vision 2040, indicating that the Ministry of Economy is the body concerned with the index and will follow up and determine the idea of it by collecting statistics among the various bodies so that the government gets comprehensive data about the performance of each governorate.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy said that the index will be implemented this year, and the relevant authorities will participate at a later time after the end of the pilot phase.

The cooperation of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) will be sought through making a direct link between the data in ESCWA and the National Centre for Statistics and Information.