The SMEs center in the Arab Planning Institute held a training program “Institutional support for SMEs AND Business incubators” in cooperation with the Public Authority for SME development in Sultanate of Oman during 25-27 Sep 2016. The program aims to analyze the status of institutional support delivered to SMEs in the Arab countries and to evaluate the mechanisms that are used technical support institutions. It also discusses the importance of business incubators in supporting and developing startups and the ways to maximize SMEs benefits by following up the international best practices. The program also discussed stages of strategic planning for the SMEs sector and the mechanisms of enhancing their performance and role in development