Muscat: The Ministry of Finance today hosted a preliminary meeting to prepare the state's overall budget for the fiscal year 2026, as well as the financial framework for the 11th FiveYear Development Plan (2026–2030), in compliance with Financial Circular No. (1) of 2025, which concerns the state budget restrictions for fiscal year 2026. Representatives from 70 components of the state's administrative machinery attended the meeting.
The conference sought to clarify Financial Circular No. (1/2025), which outlines the rules for preparing the state's general budget estimates for the fiscal year 2026 as well as the financial framework for the 11th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), and the approval requirements for development projects under the 11th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).
Furthermore, the meeting highlighted the necessity to harmonise government entities' financial allocations with their yearly plans while ensuring compliance with performance metrics, controlling public expenditure, and connecting budget projections to performance-based and program budgeting concepts.
Abdullah Salim Al Harthy, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, stated that the financial policies and measures implemented by the government since 2020, together with rising oil prices, have directly helped to improve the country's economic and financial indicators—most notably the reduction of public debt and the restoration of creditworthiness. However, he said that this development remains uneven and unsustainable.
In his speech, he said that preparing next year's 2026 budget and the 11th Five-Year Plan comes amid rising uncertainty about the global economy, with geopolitical concerns affecting economic stability in the face of ongoing volatility in energy and commodity prices. This need ongoing coordination between the ministry and other government bodies to administer public money as intended, boost non-oil income development, improve public expenditure efficiency, and maintain fiscal discipline.
For his part, Mohammed Ahmed Al Barashdi, Director General of Budget at the Ministry of Finance, stated that the meeting with government officials demonstrates the ministry's dedication to promoting integration and coordination across all state entities. It seeks to provide accurate estimates for the state's total budget for the following fiscal year 2026 and to define the financial framework for the 11th FiveYear Plan (2026–2030), ensuring alignment with government objectives and attempts to increase spending efficiency.
