MoCIIP announces the mandatory list of local products

Muscat: With the aim of developing the national economy, diversifying sources of income, achieving integration between industries, contributing to enhancing the production of goods and providing services provided locally by small and medium enterprises to enhance local content in national industries, the General Secretariat of the Tender Board, in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, organized a programme that was held in the club The Diplomat under the auspices of His Excellency Qais bin Muhammad Al-Youssef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, in which it announced a number of its programs and initiatives in order to achieve the goals of local content in the Sultanate of Oman, which came in cooperation with a group of local partners from the government and private sectors.

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, represented by the National Product Competitiveness Enhancement Committee, in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Tender Board, launched the first phase of the mandatory list of national products. Evidence that the products are national, and the mandatory list comes as a means of applying local content at the level of local products, creating competition between companies to meet the requirements of local content to include their products in them, and obtaining support through government procurement. The list will be activated for a trial period of 6 months.

Dr. Saleh bin Saeed Musen, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Investment Promotion for Trade and Industry, Chairman of the Committee for Enhancing the Competitiveness of the National Product, said that the industrial sector is one of the most vital economic sectors on which development plans in the country are based, and based on the lofty thought of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and our belief in the industrial sector’s connection with all economic sectors, and given its importance in attracting local and international investments, and its connection to the promotion of employment in the Sultanate of Oman, and given what The industrial sector is one of the great elements that have an impact on the economic diversification policy that the country seeks, which is specified in Oman Vision 2040, which made the manufacturing sector one of the five most important economic sectors, represents a starting pointTowards economic diversification, the Ministry has been interested in cooperating with its strategic partners to draw a roadmap towards the development of the industrial sector and raising the manufacturing capacity of the Sultanate of Oman through the preparation of the Industrial Strategy 2040 that A set of programs, initiatives and work plans necessary to open new horizons for the future of the Omani industry and achieve the desired aspirations were proposed. This sector, where the local content program and local added value was one of the important pillars of this strategy.

Dr. Saleh added that due to the importance of enhancing the competitiveness of the national product, the formation of a committee to enhance the competitiveness of the national product came under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion and the membership of the competent government agencies to achieve a set of goals, including empowering Omani products in the local market through the necessary legislation and developing an action plan to regulate the entry of imports in accordance with According to the standard specifications in force, as well as giving priority to the national product in government tenders and procurement, where 3 technical work teams were formed: the food products team, the non-food products team, and the government procurement team.

He stressed his happiness in order to give priority to the national product in government tenders. The launch of the mandatory list came as part of the initiatives supporting the industrial sector, in cooperation with our partners in the public and private sectors, with the aim of enhancing local content in national industries, by allocating a large part of government procurement and tenders subject to the system. Government tenders for industrial facilities, and this initiative will contribute to encouraging current industries and focusing on the local market and enhancing those products by raising their quality with the possibility of expanding production lines, in addition to encouraging investors, whether local or foreign, to establish other industries that meet the needs of the local market. The list will also be reviewed periodically to ensure that industrial establishments benefit from government procurement.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Khadoori, Head of the Local Added Value and Local Content Office at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, gave a visual presentation in which he explained that the mandatory list in its first phase will include 9 categories of products for 57 commodities, including building materials, electrical materials, oil equipment, iron materials, foodstuffs, plastic products and tools. As for services, they include 11 categories that include 96 services represented in electrical works, civil and construction works, traffic safety, general maintenance of buildings, as well as primary equipment at the work site, engineering and professional design, and information technology, in addition to manpower services, provision of machinery and equipment, and provision and transfer of cables. and the supply of general supplies and services.

The General Secretariat of the Tender Board signed a cooperation program with the Invest in Oman Hall of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion with the aim of localizing investment opportunities and localizing local industries to lay the foundations for effective cooperation and integrated coordination between the two parties to exchange data, information and expertise in investment fields, publish investment opportunities in the Invest in Oman platform and enhance the role of content. local industries.