By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Sultanate of Oman launched the “National Program for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Digital Technologies” within the framework of Oman Vision 2040, which seeks to make information and communications technology one of the basic and stimulating sectors of the national economy.
The program extends from 2024 to the end of 2026 to include a number of initiatives and projects that keep pace with global changes in the field of artificial intelligence, most notably the establishment of a national platform for open data to support entrepreneurs, investors and decision-makers, the establishment of a national center for research and development in artificial intelligence to support researchers and academics, in addition to establishing a “studio” for artificial intelligence to be a meeting point between artificial intelligence specialists and companies and institutions seeking technical solutions using artificial intelligence, the establishment of an Omani language model that is trained on Omani cultural, historical, artistic and scientific content using generative artificial intelligence, and the establishment of a center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and in partnership with the World Economic Forum, in addition to implementing quantum computing initiatives to spread awareness, enhance research and development and adopt quantum computing applications.
Engineer Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, explained that the program is an upgrade to the Executive Program for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies that was launched in 2022.
Al Maawali said that the Ministry is working to establish the basic foundations for artificial intelligence applications and advanced digital technologies in the Sultanate of Oman to build a digital economy capable of achieving sustainable development.
The program aims to adopt artificial intelligence in economic and development sectors, localize advanced digital technologies, achieve effective governance for artificial intelligence applications, and achieve progress in global indicators, as the Sultanate of Oman seeks to be among the top 50 countries in the Government Readiness Index for Artificial Intelligence.
The program includes three main axes.
The first is concerned with promoting and adopting artificial intelligence in economic and development sectors and focuses on supporting the use of artificial intelligence technologies in various sectors to improve the quality of services and achieve operational efficiency.
The second axis is represented in localizing artificial intelligence technologies to build local capabilities and competencies by encouraging partnerships between the public and private sectors, developing the technical infrastructure, and enhancing research and development in the field of artificial intelligence.
While the third axis deals with “Governance of AI Applications with a Human-Centered Vision” and aims to establish the necessary legislative and regulatory frameworks to ensure the safe and ethical use of AI technologies in a way that protects data privacy and enhances trust in advanced digital technologies.
The national program reflects the Sultanate of Oman’s commitment to adopting the latest digital technologies to enhance its national economy and achieve Oman Vision 2040.
The initiative to support emerging technology companies specialized in artificial intelligence and the initiative to stimulate investments are expected to contribute to establishing new data centers specialized in artificial intelligence, and the initiative to support factories with modern technologies contributes to increasing the digital economy in the Sultanate of Oman’s GDP to reach 10 percent by 2040, compared to 2 percent in 2021.
The AI Economics Initiative and the initiative to support the implementation of pilot projects in artificial intelligence in various economic sectors contribute to enhancing economic diversification sectors by supporting the digitization of key sectors such as transportation, logistics, tourism, food security, and manufacturing, enhancing efficiency, reducing operating costs, increasing productivity, and accelerating the diversification of sources of income in line with “Oman Vision 2040”.
The program aims to encourage digital innovation through the initiative to establish an artificial intelligence studio, the initiative of the National Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Digital Technologies, the initiative of the AI Makers, and specialized competitions and events to increase innovations and emerging technology companies in the field of artificial intelligence.
These efforts will also contribute to strengthening the position of the Sultanate of Oman as a center for technical innovation in artificial intelligence, which will push universities and research centers to produce more innovations and establish more emerging technology companies that can support economic growth.
The program also seeks to increase productivity and enhance national belonging and identity.
Using the large Omani language model will contribute to increasing productivity among employees by providing tools capable of automating many tasks such as analysis, developing strategies, producing new knowledge, summarizing and translating documents, and relying on a documented reference for information and data while preserving Omani cultural, literary, religious, artistic and political gains when using the large language model, which leads to enhancing Omani content in artificial intelligence applications, increasing national belonging and enhancing national identity.
The programme will enhance the digital competitiveness of Omani youth through an initiative and specialised programmes to qualify graduates in data analysis and artificial intelligence, qualify school students, train teachers, and add new educational curricula in artificial intelligence.
It will also contribute to preparing a new generation of innovators and creators in digital skills, which will enhance the Sultanate of Oman’s position as a leading country in developing distinguished national cadres.
