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Ruwi is the main commercial and business district of Muscat, Oman located around 5km from the main residential localities of Al-Khuwair, Madinat Al Sultan Qaboos, Shati Al-Qurm and Al-Qurm. One of the oldest parts of Muscat Ruwi was known for its narrow streets and old buildings some of which were demolished in the 1970s to build commercial structures.
Economy has been radically transformed over a series of development plans beginning with the First Five-year Plan (1976-1980). At Sultan Qaboos's instruction, a vision of Oman's economic future up to the year 2020 was set out at the end of the first phase of the country's development 1970-1995. Vision 2020, outlined the country's economic and social goals over the 25 years of the second phase of the development process (1996-2020).
Oman 2020, held in June 1995, has developed the following aims with regard to securing Oman's future prosperity and growth:
* To have economic and financial stability
* To reshape the role of the Government in the economy and to broaden private sector participation
* To diversify the economic base and sources of national income
* To globalize the Omani economy
* To upgrade the skills of the Omani workforce and develop human resources
A free-trade agreement with the United States took effect 1 January 2009, eliminating tariff barriers on all consumer and industrial products. It also provides strong protections for foreign businesses investing in Oman.
Oman is a remarkably stable country in the Middle East. Current GDP per capita has expanded continuously in the past half-a-century. It grew 339% in the Sixties reaching a peak growth of 1,370% in the Seventies scaling back to modest 12% growth in the turbulent Eighties and rising again to 34% in the Nineties.
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