Muscat, The Shura Council today hosted Sultan Salim Al Habsi, Minister of Finance, in a closed-door round of discussion on the draft version of State Budget 2023.

The secret meeting was part of the second ordinary session of the Shura Council’s 4th annual convening during the 9th Term.

Reading out his ministry’s statement on the draft State Budget, Al Habsi said that some economic sectors are experiencing growth and improvement in fiscal indicators, mostly resulting from a rise in oil prices that peaked to record levels.

The amelioration is also due to financial and economic measures that reflected positively on prospective results of State Budget 2022, leading to a fiscal surplus that contributed to a decline in public debt, Al Habsi added.

However, the minister cautioned against the fact that enduring geopolitical fluctuations and changing global scenarios may impact the future of the state’s fiscal stability. He pointed out that the State Budget 2023 was drafted bearing in mind precautionary policies to address financial and economic challenges, as well as a determination to achieve the national goals of the 10th Five Year Plan (2021-2025).

The session covered salient features of the budget—its financial, economic and social aspects, as well as policies governing allocations for development projects, the mechanisms of the Omani economy, an uptake in Oman’s credit rating, deficit and debt management during 2023.

The session also stressed the need to cut down the actual cost of production of oil (per barrel) so that it could tally with the sustainable oil sector costs, while at the same time leveraging any potential gains to the advantage of social priorities.

Source: Oman News Agency