Oman

Summers in Dhofar are unique for the Gulf region. In mid-summer, the south-east monsoon, known as the khareef, flows in from the east on seasonal winds coming off of the Indian Ocean. A moist white haze settles across the city of Salalah and the surrounding area, tempering...

A significant portion of economic activity in Oman is concentrated in the country’s capital and nearby surrounding areas. A number of other regions in the sultanate, however, remain key drivers of economic growth and are playing an increasingly important role as the national economy matures and diversifies. Most notably, these areas include...

The rapidly rising level of research activity in the Omani education sector brings a number of challenges, one of the most salient being how best to monitor the increasing array of research programmes being introduced by the sultanate’s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). An oversight capability of this nature is key to developing a cogent...

In the mature telecommunications markets of North America and Europe, internet services generally grew out of existing telephone networks. During the 1990s, early adopters around the world can still recall the odd noises of their 56-K dial-up modems. As technologies developed, operators used copper phone, cable television and other fixed...

While Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama and other port cities in the Gulf developed on relatively flat, sandy terrain, the ancient port settlement of Muscat grew around several peaks, which continue to define the city’s unique appearance. The country’s interior is ever more rugged. To the north, the Hajjar Mountains, which separate Oman from the UAE, dwarf the peaks of Muscat...

As the Ministry of Health (MOH) establishes its long-term development strategy for the sector, the question of alternative funding sources has risen to the fore – and a recent health care summit in Muscat provided a useful forum for discussion on the subject.