Muscat: With the aim of updating people about the latest developments and indicators of Oman Vision 2040, the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation and Follow-up Unit on Wednesday held a press conference at W Muscat.
A number of high-ranking officials at the unit, including Eng. Hamoud Hilal Al Siyabi, DG of Oman Vision 2040 Directorate, Khalid Said Al Shueibi, Head of the National Programme for Investment and Export Development, Eng. Abdulaziz Al Kharousi, Director of the Government Digital Transformation Programme, and Dr Badr Hamoud Al Kharousi, Head of the Development Team for the National Employment Program, delivered a visual presentation to review the vision’s latest figures, indicators and initiatives that have been taken by the vision’s team.
Speaking on the digital transformation, Eng. Abdulaziz Al Kharusi, Director of the Digital Transformation Programme said, “ Nearly RO159 m were saved after reviewing the budgets proposed by government entities as part of the plan of the digital transformation programme 2021-2025”.
Meanwhile, the program aims to improve government entities’ efficiency and discover novel solutions that are efficient, transparent, and innovative, as well as to contribute in improving the work environment through the simplification of business models and developing channels and tools to optimize the benefit of rapid technology changes.
Four practical streams were developed to help achieve the program’s vision and national directions by identifying the strategic objectives and appropriate initiatives for each stream. The streams are’ Excellence in Digital Services, Competence in Infrastructure and Digital Solutions, Empowering National Capabilities and Change Management, Community Participation and E-services Awareness’.
Regarding the indicators, Engineer Hamoud Al-Habsi highlighted “The current results do not necessarily reflect the efforts made in 2021, as some indicators need at least one or two years to show the impact”.
Oman vision 2040 indicators were determined a long time ago, after which the country went through several financial and economic challenges, including the implications of Covid-19 pandemic.
Therefore, the unit is currently working with the National Centre for Statistics and Information, the Ministry of Economy, and the relevant entities to review the Vision indicators in detail to determine what needs to be modified, developed or added. It looks forward to coming up with clear targets for every five years (2025, 2030, 2035, and 2040).
Regarding Oman’s performance in the main international indicators during 2020 and 2021, there is an improvement in the ranking of the Sultanate of Oman in the Global Innovation Index, reaching 76 in 2021 compared to 84 in 2020. In addition, Oman achieved a higher ranking in the Environmental Performance Index in 2020 compared with 2018. On the other hand, it declined in the ranking of Government Effectiveness, World Governance Indicators, going back to 88 in 2020, compared to 81 in 2017. This happened before the restructuring of the government bodies in the second half of 2020, which might have a positive impact on the indicator in the future.
