The other week, in the framework of the Governors’ Programme on Local Governance and Development, organised by the Royal Academy of Management in Oman, VNG International had the honor of hosting a delegation of five Governors and two Chairmen of Municipalities from the Sultanate of Oman in the Netherlands.

The international encounter for the delegation, visiting the Hague, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam, was designed by with the aim of exploring the way the Netherlands has approached and approached decentralization and local governance and the national, provincial, and municipal levels, through presentations and discussions with high-level speakers and senior experts and practitioners. 

The programme of the week was designed based on topics relevant to Oman’s current context in light of its Vision 2040. The key themes explored were local economic and sustainable development, multi-stakeholder engagement, digital transformation, as well as political and fiscal decentralization.

The week included visits to, among others, the Province of South Holland, the Municipality of Rotterdam, Innovation Campus RDM, Metropolitan Region Amsterdam, Start-Up in Residence, VNG Realisatie, as well as the Ministries of Interior and Kingdom Relations as well as Foreign Affairs.