UAE | General
Oman tears down barriers to e-commerce
Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), which is fast becoming Oman's IT centre in search of e-commerce and e-government, was the scene of the three-day international conference on communications, computer and power (ICCCP 2001) attended by experts from 19 countries.
- By Arif Ali
- Published: 00:00 February 17, 2001
Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), which is fast becoming Oman's IT centre in search of e-commerce and e-government, was the scene of the three-day international conference on communications, computer and power (ICCCP 2001) attended by experts from 19 countries. The government has accelerated its efforts to promote information technology as a vital tool to boost the economy, and the conference was part of that campaign, which has also been joined by the Majlis Al Shura, Oman's lower house of parliament.
The bureaucratic bottlenecks are being removed and one-stop windows are being created to meet the demands of the new millennium. In his welcome address, Dr Saoud Nasser Al Riyami, SQU Vice-Chancellor, highlighted the growing importance of the three disciplines – communications, computer and power – in contributing to the development of modern life in a universe which has been reduced to a village, thanks to the wonders of information technology.
He said the state-run SQU, now in its 16th year, has dedicated its efforts and resources to the promotion of research in all the spheres of science and technology, and this rare assemblage of distinguished IT experts in Oman was an expression of the institution's determination to contribute its bit to the improvement of the quality of life in the Sultanate.
In his keynote address, Dr H.T. Mouftah, who teaches electrical and computer engineering at Queen's University in Canada, said though "packet switching network" was evolving in telecommunications, the future lies in optical network, which is not only efficient and error-free but also cost-effective in the long run. "But there are challenges. Experts are working on setting up an optical network within the packet switching domain. Once that is achieved, it will change the way we communicate today."
Dr Adel Ahmed, chairman of the organising committee, said more such conferences are on the anvil to achieve the goal of e-government. Experts from 19 countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Tunisia, the U.S., Australia, and the UK, presented about 100 papers on various IT topics – from next generation mobiles to biological effects of radiation to future intelligent search engines for the web.
More than 350 IT professionals, engineers, business managers and entrepreneurs based in Oman and outside also took part as listeners. The conference was opened by Sheikh Mohammed bin Ali Al Qatabi, Minister of Electricity and Water.
Meanwhile, Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Hareb Al Busaidi, Minister of Defence, has received an invitation from General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the UAE Defence Minister, to attend the inauguration of the Idex 2001 taking place in Abu Dhabi next month. The invitation was delivered by the UAE Ambassador, Isa Khalfan Al Haraimel.
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