Monday 06 / January / 2025
Muscat: His Highness Dr. Faris bin Turki Al Said, Assistant Professor at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and member of the technical team of the unified national identity project of the Sultanate of Oman, said that the national identity of any country is not just a logo but a comprehensive strategic programme.
“That is why we are keen to introduce the best image with the participation of the community,” he said.
The voting on the national identity continued for days and concluded on Sunday, 29 December 2024, he added.
In a statement to Shabiba FM, he said: “Under the new era of renewed renaissance, there is a significant effort on diversification of income in the Sultanate of Oman along with opportunities in the non-oil sectors. Oman is trying to tap its tourism potentials and other sectors, including the logistics sector, as part of its new outlook for the upcoming years. The promotion identities are important for all countries, mainly in sending clear images and messages for those looking for investment, tourism, and other opportunities, he said, pointing to the expected investments that support other sectors.
“There is another sector not adequately dealt with by the media, which is the attraction of local talents,” he said, adding to the significance of interaction between the employment/labour sector (market) and foreign countries for the exchange of expertise, which is not possible without specialized visits to Oman. For instance, visits of people with specific skills are required in Oman—say, for five-year contracts.”
He also spoke on the innovative skills in entrepreneurship, saying that whenever there are investment opportunities, we could use such expertise and skills in other countries.
He said that any identity programme is a strategic programme and not just a logo.
He said that we have received inquiries on opening the door for residents to vote.
“Our response to such inquiries is that Oman always welcomes people from all countries to become a part of society, and we welcome their participation in the building of the country for the interest of both the citizens and residents.”
By the “Together we progress” programme, we aim to empower citizens to make them an integral part of the decision-making process, he added.
He said that the participation of society in decision-making did not start during the era of the renewed renaissance but started with Oman Vision 2040.
There is a difference between the identity of society and the national identity. He said that when we speak about the Omani people, the dagger, and the two swords, we do not speak on changing the said identity, but we speak on a unified, comprehensive promotional identity with economic spinoffs.
Regarding the dagger and the two swords, we have received several responses; however, some people forgot that there were prior experiences for the Sultanate, and unfortunately we did not come out of the scope of tourism, but now our move is to stand together to reach out to other countries of the world with a package of potentials, not just the tourism potentials, as each sector is related to other sectors.
“I stress that the Khanjar (dagger) and the two swords are a logo of the state and will remain a constitutional and untouchable original Omani logo. The aim of the identity is to boost the image of Oman outside the political framework, he said, adding that the countries compete for attracting investments and tapping talent to develop tourism and the economy, and Oman must excel in this field, he added.
