National workshop held to unify, coordinate foresight efforts

Muscat: The National Foresight Office at the Ministry of Economy today organized a national workshop titled "Aligning National Efforts in the Field of Future Foresight."

The workshop aimed to establish a unified framework for coordinating institutional and sectoral efforts in Oman in the field of future foresight. This was achieved by inventorying existing initiatives and efforts and activating institutional coordination among entities. This will enhance readiness to deal with accelerating future transformations and enable the development of public policies and decision-making based on scientific foundations and long-term strategic visions.

The opening of the workshop was held under the auspices of Dr. Said Mohammed Al Saqri, Minister of Economy, who confirmed in a statement that work in the field of future foresight has become a critical element in enhancing the national economy's competitiveness and its ability to respond to global transformations.

He added that the Ministry seeks to establish a unified national system that contributes to absorbing economic, technological, and demographic shifts, and transforming them into real opportunities for growth and diversification. Through the National Foresight Office, the Ministry is working to build a sustainable institutional model that supports decision-making and raises Oman's readiness for the future.

For his part, Mubarak Khamis Al Hamdani, Director of the National Foresight Office, stressed the importance of building a shared national knowledge base, pointing to the necessity of institutional coordination.

He stated that the Office seeks through this workshop to build a comprehensive national registry of foresight-related initiatives and projects, and to create practical mechanisms for coordinating efforts among government, private, and academic entities.

The workshop addressed a number of topics related to the national foresight landscape, including reviewing existing initiatives and systems, analyzing opportunities, challenges, and intersections, and discussing mechanisms for distributing roles among entities. It also discussed proposals for strengthening national capacity building and developing competencies in the fields of future analysis and forecasting.

The workshop included discussion sessions on the most prominent future priority sectors for Oman, especially those related to technological, demographic, and economic transformations.

The workshop reviewed a number of national experiences in foresight, including the experience of the Academy for Strategic and Defence Studies at the Ministry of Defence, which presented an advanced model for employing strategic analysis tools and long-term planning to support decision-making and enhance national security.

The experience of the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit was reviewed, which developed flexible methodologies for linking national indicators with future transformations, and developing monitoring and analysis frameworks that contribute to risk assessment and enhancing the ability to anticipate opportunities with economic and social impact.

The workshop concluded with a set of practical outcomes, including preparing a report to inventory foresight initiatives and submitting recommendations to decision-makers regarding the most important global transformations affecting Oman, and establishing joint coordination mechanisms among relevant entities to enhance the state's readiness to deal with future risks and opportunities, enabling government bodies to formulate more effective and proactive policies and interventions, in addition to presenting proposals for developing national capacity building programs.