OPAZ hosts forum on environmental regulation and compliance

The Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) hosted today, 9 December 2025, the ‘Environmental Compliance and Regulatory Forum’, which aims to reinforce the Authority’s role in raising compliance levels across the zones and supporting adherence to applicable legislation, policies, laws and regulations, in line with its vision to be a leading destination for investment. The two-day forum focuses on strengthening compliance frameworks and improving practices across the zones.

Ahmed bin Saleh bin Ahmed Al Farsi as General Manager of Compliance and Legislation Sector at OPAZ, stated that the forum is part of the Authority’s efforts to enhance its supervisory and regulatory role by improving compliance within the zones and advancing strategic priorities. This includes improving and developing the business environment, fostering competitiveness, enhancing economic performance, promoting transparency, supporting innovation and technology, reducing environmental impacts, facilitating procedures, and strengthening investor confidence. He noted that the forum also encourages zone administrations to excel in improving performance and positioning the Authority as a key driver for investment attraction.

He added that the third annual forum seeks to raise awareness of occupational health and safety standards, environmental management, the investment environment and risk management, while promoting integration among government and private entities, adopting international best practices and supporting regulatory frameworks for the zones.

The forum brings together government entities, along with representatives from the special economic zones, free zones and industrial cities supervised by OPAZ.

The first day featured discussions on Oman’s net-zero agenda and its role in enabling growth through sustainability, the importance of occupational health and safety in the workplace, and best practices in governance and compliance. It also included a presentation by the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority on the national registry for hazardous materials, outlining national mechanisms for registration, management and monitoring.

On Wednesday, 10 December 2025, the forum will present a series of visual presentations to exchange expertise and knowledge among zone administrations on best practices in compliance and environmental management. This includes experiences from the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD), judicial enforcement procedures, Madayn’s mechanisms for incident verification within industrial cities, and the performance reporting framework of the Sohar Free Zone.

The annual forum aims to build awareness on the importance of compliance with legislation, policies and procedures, encourage knowledge exchange, leverage strengths across the zones and establish improvement plans to address challenges. This aligns with OPAZ’s strategic priorities to enhance compliance efficiency and support the development of the zones, contributing to the Authority’s vision of becoming the preferred destination for investment.