Comex 2023 Kicks off today at OCEC

Muscat: The thirty-second edition of Oman Communications and Information Technology Exhibition “COMEX 2023”, kicked off today at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The opening ceremony of the four-day event was held under the auspices of HH Sayyid Marwan Turki Al Said, Governor of Dhofar.

HH Sayyid Marwan underscored the significance of the expo to Oman’s digital transformation, noting that it adds momentum to the transition in technical operations and enhances the economic sectors’ ability to consolidate their productivity.

COMEX will also empower individuals, establishments and nascent Omani firms, he added.

COMEX 2023 brings together more than 120 local and international enterprises, in addition to 97 start-ups.

Eng. Said Hamoud Al Ma’awali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, said that “digital investment” was chosen as the theme of Comex this year, to make it a destination for digital investment from different countries. Emphasis will be laid on the accomplishments of the Sultanate of Oman in this field, with special focus on investment, he added.

Al Ma’awali pointed out that the ministry recently launched Manjam Labs to streamline government services, targeting 120 basic services. The ministry also launched Makeen Initiative to train more than 10,000 jobseekers on advanced digital skills, he explained.

On grounds of applying transparency and a policy of open government data, the ministry allocated an open data page in its website and released the first set of information, which will be updated on a regular basis, said Al Ma’awali, adding that steps are under way to set up a platform for unified open government data.

Oman made a global achievement in the field of express mail recently, taking the lead in a global group of 190 countries, said the minister. In December 2022, Oman Post Company inked an agreement with Amazon to launch a cloud service that was the first of its kind in the Middle East that supports local area technology, he added.

The minister explained that the National Programme for Digital Economy comprises 8 ambition executive programmes designed to set solid grounds for a prosperous digital economy and augment its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product. The programmes are: Government Digital Transition, Cybersecurity, Digital Industry, Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Technologies, Space, Infrastructure, Fintech and E-commerce. – ONA