First edition of Smart City Summit opens in Oman

 The 1stEdition of the Smart City Summit Oman was inaugurated by H.E. Alfadhel Mohamed Al Harthy, Secretary General to the Cabinet at the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre on 28thMarch 2017 in the presence of dignitaries, senior officials and diplomats.

Starting off on a positive note, the Summit received overwhelming attendance from visiting delegates from Dubai, Qatar, Korea, Saudi Arabia, UK, Belgium, Singapore & India spanning varied economic sectors like IT & Technology, Telecom, Infrastructure, Real Estate & Manufacturing. 

The Smart City Summit Oman is hosted under the strategic partnership ofthe Information Technology Authority (ITA), Oman Broadband and Omran, with the Smart Cities Council as supporting partner and FTTH Council MENA as Association Partner. The Summit is also backed by key stakeholders in the ICT industry includingOoredoo as Diamond Sponsor ; Oman Fiber Optic &Omantel as Gold Sponsors ; MHD LLC as Silver Sponsor ; and Tawasol, Integrated Smart Technologies, Spectral Link Business Solutions LLC & Al Jassar Telecom as Associated Exhibitors.

Speakers at the Summit included over 25 thought leaders and experts presenting case studies from around the world covering Sweden, UK, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain, UAE & Saudi Arabia.

The first day of the Conference commenced with keynotes on the regional & global vision of smart cities and covered ways on how to build a successful smart city, the initiatives to enhance smart capabilities in Oman, the key role telecom operators play in the vision of smart cities& culminated in a roundtable session which explored a ‘Smart Cities Readiness Guide’ and showcased consumer benefits.

The second day of the Smart City Conference will entail a CEO panel highlightingthe concept of a smart city and the major role a national digital vision can play in economy development, followed by sessions which would explore the regional overview of the importance of a solid ICT infrastructure in smart cities, the Internet of Things& smart cities as platforms for innovation, the big wins that cities can achieve and will conclude with a round table discussion focusing on particular aspects of smart cities and the digital vision.

Commenting on the Summit proceedings,Mr. Tarek Ali, General Manager, OITE Trade Fairs said “The Smart City Summit Oman intends to complement the efforts and initiatives the country has launched many years ago for the establishment of modern telecommunication and internet infrastructure. Now, it is time to advance into new concepts that are feasible economically and introduce new horizons for public and economic services. With the plethora of such speakers, we are providing a collective networking and learning experience of the highest level,given the invited delegates and speakers. We are building the block for future growth that creates new trends to advance the economy and create new business opportunities”.

An exhibition with widespread potential for meetings and networking opportunities saw leading smart city companies’ present international technologies and ideas to conference participants and the local business community to expand knowledge and business sourcing at the Summit which was held in co-location with COMEX- Oman’s seminal event for IT, Telecom & Technology.
 

Source: Timesofoman