Oman restructures ministries: Sultan issues royal decrees

By Rahul Vaimal, Associate Editor
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Several ministries in the Sultanate of Oman were renamed, merged along with new additions as the Sultan of Oman issues as much as 28 new royal decrees to shuffle the government. 

New Ministries 

  • Ministry of Economy
  • Ministry of Transport
  • Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
  • Ministry of Labor and 
  • Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth

Sultan Haitham’s son, Dhilyazen bin Haitham, will head the new Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth.

Merged Ministries 

  • Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Legal Affairs was merged to form the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.
  • The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries was merged to the Ministry of Agricultural, Fisheries and Water Resources.

Renamed Ministries 

  • Ministry of Oil and Gas to the Ministry of Energy and Minerals
  • Ministry of Housing to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning
  • Ministry of Heritage and Culture to the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism
  • Ministry of Trade and Industry to the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Investment Promotion

New Leadership 

Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi will become the new foreign minister after he takes over the reins taking from Yusuf bin Alawi the veteran minister who had served in the brief since 1997.

Sultan bin Salem bin Saeed Al Habsi becomes finance minister.

Sultan Haitham affirmed that the new government will work on decreasing public debt and fiscal deficit, as well as restructuring the public apparatus and companies. Internally the government will focus on modernizing the education system, science and development.

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