MoCIIP organizes “Together to Ensure Freedom of Competition” workshop

Muscat: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion organized today at the headquarters of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Muscat a workshop to complement the awareness campaign “Together to Ensure Freedom of Competition” to educate consumers, traders and investors about the provisions of the law on protecting competition and preventing monopoly and its executive regulations, anti-dumping, countervailing and preventive measures, and market principles.

The opening of the seminar was sponsored by Sayyid Saud bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Governor of Muscat. The campaign comes within the awareness campaign of the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Center to introduce the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Law in the various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, which aims to regulate the freedom to practice economic activities, and to establish the principle of market rules and freedom of prices in a way that does not lead to restricting, preventing, or harming free competition.

Zahran bin Salem Al Mahrouqi, Director General of the Center for Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention, explained that the issues of protecting competition and preventing monopoly are turning in the world into institutional work, and those in charge are seeking to develop and activate its practices, especially since it is considered a “system of global values” established by countries and for them constitutes the cornerstone of the paths of progress and economic prosperity based on knowledge, technology and artificial intelligence. He said that fair competition is the basic element of economic and social development, as it stimulates innovation, development, improvement of quality and services, enhances economic growth, provides job opportunities, and reduces prices for consumers, which requires companies to compete honestly and fairly, and adhere to applicable local and international laws and regulations.

He pointed out that monopoly represents a threat to competition and negatively affects the economy, as it leads to high prices, reduced quality, and reduced innovation and development. Therefore, care must be taken to combat monopoly and encourage honest and fair competition.

He stated that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion places the protection of competition and the prevention of monopoly at the core of its economic and commercial work, as an embodiment of the “Oman 2040” vision, which sets goals based on competitiveness that achieves economic growth and prosperity.

He explained that the Ministry’s work on this issue is characterized by an institutional nature based on the development of regulating legislation. for competition practices.