The reports states that GCC states in particular 'have sharply improved their overall performance' and continued to make investments in the ICT sector in a bid to diversify their economies.
Qatar is the highest ranked GCC state coming in the 23rd position globally, ahead of UAE (25th), Bahrain (29th) and Saudi Arabia (31st).
In a statement, H E Dr Salem ben Nasser al Ismaily, chairman of the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development (PAIPED), said, “Oman’s ranking places the country’s ICT readiness ahead of the large emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Investment in the sector is seen as a key factor in developing business and human capacity.”
“The report also reflects the sultanate’s strong leadership and focus on ICT as an economic and social driver. Given the investment and effort being made the strategy will deliver significant returns.”
He added, “Technology is a powerful tool for transforming the way people do business, communicate with each other and access information. If we are to increase Oman’s national competitiveness we must ensure that our ICT training efforts are accelerated – and that the up-take of ICT courses at universities continues to rise.”
Oman’s overall performance highlights a number of improvements, in particular the ICT infrastructure, usage levels and social impact ratings. There has also been an increase in the number of households owning personal computers, in addition to smartphone usage by 58 per cent of the population.
The Nordic countries dominate the report with Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark all ranking in the top ten.
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Quelle/Source: Muscat Daily, 13.04.2013
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