Sultan Haitham Issues 10 Royal Decrees

Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik issued 10 Royal decrees, including measures covering narcotic drugs, personal data, mineral resources and plant genetic resources.

Royal Decree No. 67/2026 promulgates a new Law on Combating Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The Health Ministry will issue the executive regulations and implementation decisions. Existing regulations and decisions will remain in effect until then, provided they do not conflict with the new law. The decree repeals the previous law issued under Royal Decree No. 17/99.

Royal Decree No. 68/2026 amends provisions of the Law on Protecting Personal Data. Royal Decree No. 69/2026 changes the Law on Minerals Wealth. Licenses issued before the amendments take effect will remain valid until they expire. Renewal applications and decisions on license requests filed earlier will follow the procedures and regulations set out in the amendments.

Royal Decree No. 70/2026 applies the unified GCC law on managing plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. The decrees state that they will be published in the Official Gazette and take effect on the day after publication. Each measure was presented to the Council of Oman.