Oman has made strong progress in its government’s digital transformation initiative, achieving a 53 percent completion rate by the end of September 2023, according to a statement by H.E. Dr. Ali bin Amer al Shidhani, undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology in Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology.
Al Shidhani added that the government’s average performance in meeting the requirements of its digital transformation initiative was 72 percent as of the end of September 2023. Across the 56 government institutions involved in measuring progress on the digital transformation, the governorates averaged a 54 percent proficiency level for the year 2023.
The announcement was made during the second edition of the Government Digital Transformation Forum at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The forum was designed to highlight the achievements of various government institutions in adopting digital technologies. It provided a platform for discussing best practices, future trends and the integration of innovative technical solutions to enhance public services and foster skill development within the sultanate.
Oman’s digital transformation achievements
In his address, H.E. Shidhani detailed Oman’s progress, noting the government’s commitment to advancing digital transformation. He reported that in the first half of 2023 alone, the country recorded over 30 million electronic transactions using e-authentication and nearly one million electronic signature transactions.
From January to October 2023, more than 41 million digital transactions were processed through the government portal, while over 3.3 million ID/residence card certificates were issued digitally. The national platform for electronic integration facilitated approximately 942 million data exchanges from January to October last year.
Digitization of government services
H.E. Shidhani also highlighted the simplification of 2,199 services and the digitisation of 1,545 services from January 2021 to September 2023.
Additionally, he added that these efforts mark a significant move towards achieving the goal of digitising all basic government services by 2025, with 61 percent of the target already met.
“Oman’s dedication to digital transformation is evident as it continues to leverage technology to enhance government efficiency and service delivery, which is critical for socio-economic development and innovation across all sectors,” he further stated.