NEWS
SQU hosts
second
Blockchain
symposium
Sultanate signs cybersecurity
co-operation agreement with
World Economic Forum
S
ultan Qaboos University (SQU)
has hosted the Second Blockchain
Symposium with the theme of integrating
digital technologies with Blockchain.
The event, organised by the Oman
Blockchain Club, was held in the presence
of HE Dr Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the Vice
Chancellor of SQU and other dignitaries.
Dr Hamad Salim Al Rawahi, Chief Executive
of the Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority, outlined the general policies and
guidelines of TRA and its efforts towards
integrating latest digital technologies
and electronic services to promote
communication, education, healthcare and
business in the country.
Oman Blockchain Club members and the
organisers of the Blockchain Symposium
articulated the view that Blockchain allows
the peer-to-peer exchange of money directly
without the need for a traditional financial
intermediary or a third party, with lower cost
and high-speed transactions.
In a statement organisers said the adoption
of Blockchain technology in Oman could be
a positive influence in several ways.
The statement said: “Adopting such
technology will lead us in Oman to be a
pioneer in the region. Blockchain is an
enabling technology that will lead Oman
to achieve efficient operations through
optimising the current services of emerging
applications such as identity management
and data management, as well as supply
chain management. Therefore, it is essential
to analyse these technologies critically
to learn lessons from international best
practices that benefit Oman.”
T
he Sultanate of Oman, represented
by the Information Technology
Authority (ITA), has signed a
cybersecurity agreement with the World
Economic Forum.
The co-operation aims to explore
opportunities for building a non-
exclusive collaboration between them
towards promoting cybersecurity
and identifying potential projects to
mitigate cyberthreats.
The agreement was signed with Dr
Salim Sultan Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA, and
Troels Oerting, Head of Global Centre
for Cybersecurity (GCC), at the World
Economic Forum.
Dr Salim Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA, said:
“Through this agreement we seek to
strengthen co-operation between the
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Sultanate and the World Economic
Forum in the field of cybersecurity
and we hope that the agreement will
contribute to enhancing the role of the
Sultanate as a developed country in the
field of cybersecurity readiness as we are
ranked first place in the Arab world and
fourth worldwide.”
Troels Oerting, Head of Global Centre
for Cybersecurity, (GCC), at the World
Economic Forum, said: “By working with
Oman we also get access to many other
countries in the region and over the
globe because Oman is known as the
Switzerland of the middle east for its
neutral roles. I have also been impressed
by the expertise in this country in
cybersecurity so we are looking forward
to generating big projects together and
to improve security not just for Oman but
also for everybody else in the world.”
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