Ifri Oman Starting to extract its oil resources from 1967 on, and meeting great economic growth in the 1970’s like all GCC countries at the time, Oman can nowadays be described as a middle-income country when comparing to its gulf homologues, having the second lowest GDP per capita within the Gulf countries11. Early aware of the limited nature of oil resources, Oman has a consistent tradition of economic development policy through a succession of five-year plans. The last decade was marked by numerous economic reforms to improve the business framework and liberalize the economy by creating free zones. Being geographically close to UAE, Oman aims at following the same diversification path as its neighbors based on tourism, construction and pushing an industrial sector. Its substantial efforts ensured real achievements in the non-oil sectors: while the non-hydrocarbon sector represented 43% of the GDP in 1990, economic reforms have contributed to raise this share to 71% in 2010. Building on its tradition of diversification, Oman launched the Vision 2020 plan with a view to encourage the private sector in creating new inclusive jobs for the national workforce, and reducing the oil sector’s contribution to GDP to 9% by 2020. Thus, meeting with better living standards and reduce the unemployment rate are on top of Oman’s priorities.