On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik assuming the reins of power in the country, he graciously issued royal decrees to support a number of social and economic initiatives that address the livelihood needs of citizens and promote development and social stability.

The royal decrees included the allocation of 50 million Omani Rials to projects with economic and investment returns that contribute to providing employment opportunities for citizens, by increasing the allocations for the Governorate Development Programme under the Eleventh Five-Year Development Plan (2026–2030) from 220 million to 270 million Omani Rials.

His Majesty also directed that financial support be provided to more than 73,000 school pupils during the two academic terms, whose families are registered under the family support system in the Royal Oman Police’s National Records System, by doubling the amount of the child benefit paid from the Social Protection Fund.

As part of efforts to strengthen the social protection system, his Majesty approved amendments to the provisions governing certain social protection benefits to benefit lower-income families; therefore, the number of families receiving the family income support benefit will rise to more than 57,000, whilst the total number of beneficiaries of social protection benefits is expected to reach approximately 1.6 million by 2026, details of which with be announced by the relevant authorities.

With regard to employment, his Majesty directed that the pace of implementation of the approved jobseeker employment programme for the year 2026 be accelerated. This programme includes the provision of 60,000 job opportunities, of which 10,000 will be in the civil and military sectors, and 50,000 in government companies and private sector institutions.

The Royal Decrees also included the allocation of 100 million Omani Riyals to support the social housing programme for the years 2026 and 2027, as well as the extension of the job security allowance to one year instead of six months for all eligible insured persons whose entitlement has not exceeded one full year, in accordance with the details to be announced by the relevant authorities.