Muscat: The Command of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (COSAF) organised a national symposium on governance and its role in improving performance, enhancing transparency and improving financial and administrative auditing, under the auspices of HH Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs.
The symposium aimed to introduce governance and its importance and components as a development tool which supports all sectors in Oman.
It also reviewed the regional and international directions in governance, the mechanisms of implementing it in the administrative apparatus, as well as theories and studies of utilizing governance in developing the performance of military and security departments from an international perspective.
The event saw the participation of officials from the Ministry of Defence, the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF), the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the State Audit Institution (SAI), Oman Centre for Governance and Sustainability, Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit, Oman Investment Authority (OIA), Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and Injaz Development.
Furthermore, the three sessions of the symposium included several presentations and working papers covering various topics related to governance, namely governance as a development tool, governance in Oman’s legislation and Oman Vision 2040, governance in Oman between the challenges of the present and the aspirations of the future and governance as a pillar of Oman Vision 2040, among other papers.
The symposium came up with a number of recommendations, such as the initiation of a governance award named “The Sultan Haitham Award for Governance”, activating and speeding the implementation of Oman Vision 2040 enablers, rapidly approving and implementing the national plan of enhancing integrity and improving financial and administrative auditing.
Moreover, the symposium also recommended granting Oman Centre for Governance and Sustainability the power to apply governance in the public sector.
It also proposed publishing an annual summary of the major works of SAI, among other recommendations.
The symposium was attended by members from the royal family and some ministers, Chairmen of the State Council and the Shura Council, SAF Chief of Staff, commanders of other military and security departments, a number of undersecretaries, senior SAF officers, academics and other military and civil guests. –ONA
