Ambassadors’ forum in Muscat to discuss decentralisation

Oman Monday 19/May/2025 15:18 PM
By: Times News Service
Ambassadors’ forum in Muscat to discuss decentralisation

Muscat: The first Governorates Ambassadors Forum will kick off on Tuesday under the sponsorship of Sayyid Saud bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Governor of Muscat, and will be attended by Engineer Badr bin Salem Al Mamari, Secretary General of the Tender Board, and senior officials.

The General Secretariat of the Tender Board will conduct this forum, being hosted in Muscat Governorate for the first time.

This will be a part of a series of forums for the governorates’ ambassadors, according to a prior plan supervised by the Secretariat.

Specialists and professionals working in the fields of project management and administrative fields of various Oman governorates will participate in the forum, from between 20 and22 May.

The theme of the forum is ‘We are united by purpose’, to promote institutional integration and exchange best practices in contracts and tenders, contributing to supporting the government’s directives of decentralisation, empowering the governorates, and achieving balanced development in Oman.

This programme includes an official opening session with welcoming speeches by Muscat Governorate and the General Secretariat of the Tender Board.

This will be followed by specialised sessions and workshops reviewing the governorates’ experiences in projects and contracts management, highlighting common challenges and their solutions.

The sessions will be introduced with a workshop on ‘The Contract Governance and Tender Book’, discussing the enhancement of legal governance and achieving contractual balance in the government tenders management.

A worksheet entitled ‘Project Preparation Methodology in the Annual Plan’ will be held to explain the methodological framework for planning projects and ensuring their consistency with national priorities, improving the resources’ efficiency and implementation quality.

This forum’s programme includes a workshop entitled ‘Documentary Course and Performance Platform’, focusing on governance and reducing change instructions to enhance the efficiency of managing government projects, and concluding on the first day with two workshops on ‘Local Content’ and ‘Price Indicators’.

The first one highlights promoting local content to empower the national economy, while the second reviews the Price Indicators Department’s role to follow and analyse prices in various governorates to support decision-making.

On the second day, the programme will be complemented with a field visit to various vital implemented projects in Muscat Governorate.

They include the Oman Botanic Garden, Sultan Haitham City, Al Ansab Street - Al Jafnayn and the Green Walk, to link theoretical aspects with practical application and strengthen exchanging field experiences.

The forum will conclude on the third day with various specialised working papers delivered by specialists from Muscat Governorate and the General Secretariat of the Tender Board to discuss major directions and future opportunities in project management and government procurement.

The forum contributes to enabling local cadres to enhance their skills and proficiencies, and support the governance locally. Thus reflecting the government’s directives to achieve transparency and efficiency of government performance within the framework of national efforts for institutional development.