A health system development course, developed jointly by WHO and the Ministry of Health of Oman, was held from 17 to 21 December 2011 in Oman. The course aimed to raise the knowledge, skills and competence of senior managers and planners in health systems development to enable them to play a major role in the setting of new national health policy and strategy 2050. The course was adapted from a previous course to the Omani context. It was held under the auspices of Dr Darwish bin Saif al Maharbi, Under-Secretary of Administrative and Financial Affairs, in the presence of Dr Ali Al-Hinaei, Under-Secretary of Planning Affairs. The opening ceremony included a lecture by Dr Ahmed al Qasmi, Director-General of Planning, to review the objectives . Representatives from the Ministry of Health, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Medical Services of Armed Forces, Royal Oman Police and Diwan of Royal Court attended the course.