Oman to celebrate 46th National Day Friday

MUSCAT, Nov 17 (KUNA) -- The Sultanate of Oman is set to celebrate its 46th National Day on Friday, November 18, as the country sees development measures on all levels.
On this day, Omanis gather to express their love and appreciation for Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who put great efforts to develop the country in all sectors despite challenges.
Sultan Qaboos is always working on providing modern services to citizens, creating economic diversity, increasing investments in the country and allowing citizens to take part in decision making.
The Omani government is exerting huge efforts to protect peace and stability of the Gulf and the Middle East regions.
The 46th celebration comes in time where the sultanate has concluded its Five-Year Development Plan (2011-2015), and is set to commence its ninth and final five year plan for 2016-2020.
The ninth plan will focus on social aspects, increasing citizens' salaries, boosting different production rates and supporting small to medium-sized enterprises.
Meanwhile, Oman has taken measures to face the drop of oil prices that occurred since 2014 and led to a decrease in the country's revenues by 36 percent. The measures included finding different resources other than relying on oil, cutting spending and boosting the activities of none-oil sectors to contribute to the economy.(end) ahr.ag