Oman to celebrate national day today

Oman's citizens celebrate their National Day today with a sense of pride in the great strides their country has made towards democratisation and modernisation.

Since he took the reins of power in 1971, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has turned the nation into a modern state. Throughout the last 33 years, this Gulf country has seen colossal development in every field from infrastructure to economy to health to education.

The country's first open elections to the Majlis As'Shura (Advisory Council) on October 4 marked another step forward in the political arena. As Sultan Qaboos said in his address to the opening session of the Council of State, Oman has adopted a unique step-by-step approach in the march towards democracy.

The concept of a consultative council began in Oman way back in 1980 and HM Sultan Qaboos has assured his citizens that the process of "shura" would be consolidated and developed further.

Sultan Qaboos' call for elections received an encouraging response from his subjects as 506 candidates, including 15 women, contested for 83 seats. HM Sultan Qaboos said: "It was our wish to see Oman embark upon its own enterprise in the field of democratic action in which citizens play their part in taking national decisions."

While the political process includes the participation of an increasing number of Oman's citizenry, Sultan Qaboos has underlined the importance of developing the country's human resources.

In his recent speeches, he has emphasised the effectiveness of human resources.

There has been a marked increase in the nationalisation of jobs, especially in the private sector. The Ministry of Manpower's ambitious RO2 million self-employment project – Sanad – is proving to be a great boon in creating employment opportunities for young Omanis.

With the privatisation process gaining momentum in the country, the economy is expected to grow further, and the Omani government is making every effort to develop non-oil income sources.

As the country continues to march forward in every direction, Sayyid Thuwaini bin Shihab Al Said, Personal Representative of His Majesty the Sultan and Chairman of the Higher Committee of the National Day Celebrations, has said that citizens have always been the focus of Oman's development.

The country has also witnessed impressive development on the economic front with significant growth rate during the last few years.