OMAN-INDIA TIES, ACROSS SEA AND SPACE

f. Science and technology The Sultanate embarked on its ambitious journey towards inducing a quantum shift to a knowledge-based society by launching the Digital Oman Strategy with focus on activating information and communications technologies (ICTs) to promote government services, enrich the business sector, and enable individuals to conduct transactions digitally. It also seeks to set up an integrated infrastructure that provides excellent government e-services to citizens and businesses in the Sultanate, build knowledge-based industries, and create ample and diverse job opportunities for Omani nationals. While the late Sultan Qaboos is the architect of modern Oman, providing the country with all the infrastructure needs, the new Sultan, His Majesty Haitham bin Tarik is making all-out efforts to develop Oman’s digital infrastructure. In the Sultanate, municipalities, developers, and planners are mostly employing digital tools to meet economic, cultural, and environmental needs of both the present and future.

Vast amounts of information are disseminated through ICT worldwide and those who have no access to these technologies are left at a disadvantage, being unable to participate and share fully in the benefits of the information society. Access to ICT is seen as an essential factor for the development and the improvement of the well-being of society54. Oman National Computer Emergency Readiness Team (OCERT) is an Omani digital initiative that epitomizes a turning point in security incidents in the Sultanate. Inaugurated in April 2010, it was tasked with providing a secure cyber environment to every user of any government or private website. In 2016, Oman launched the Oman Technology Fund (OTF), which focuses on investment in emerging enterprises and innovative ideas in the IT sector in Oman and the region. The Fund’s structure relies on partnerships with international leading companies renowned for their audacious IT investments. Its work consists mainly of identifying pioneering ideas in the ICT sector, and entrepreneurs who have ideas and projects with high-growth potential and developing these enterprises, while giving them the opportunity to gain a global footprint by capitalizing on the advanced capabilities of its international investment partners.

Vision 2040, Oman’s long-term development plan, calls for the enhancement of national technical capabilities, the construction of vital ICT infrastructure, and the improvement of e-government services. The government has prioritized the development of ICT and the sector is well positioned for growth in the years ahead. Oman’s sovereign wealth fund formed the Oman ICT Group (OICT) in early 2019 to focus on cloud and data services, cybersecurity and smart applications, and next-generation technology.55 54 First Voluntary National Review of The Sultanate of Oman 2019.

55 International Trade Administration. Oman -Country Commercial Guide.

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