ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Dr. Khalifa Al Barwani
Chief Executive Officer
National Centre for Statistics & Information

It is a great pleasure for National Centre for Statistics & Information to be associated with Oman Geospatial Forum. The event is an extremely opportune platform for highlighting the Geospatial developments of Oman at a National level. NCSI has been part of the event since its inception in 2013 as Platinum Sponsor and it gives me immense pleasure to be Platinum Sponsor for fourth year as well. NCSI has found significant benefits in association with Oman GeoSpatial Forum on earlier occasions and the growing stature of the conference is a testimony to its continued relevance.

The Sultanate of Oman realized the vital role of geospatial information in the success of many government organizations in late 1980s, and took the initiative to introduce GIS technology in the government planning activities. Since then, many government organizations have invested in geospatial information adoption and spatial data production to support the development projects and enhance businesses.

National Centre for Statistics & Information being responsible for building National Spatial Data Infrastructure is committed to developing the National geospatial ecosystem in the Sultanate of Oman and its contribution to national growth. Establishing such technical and institutional frameworks, cooperation and engagement with stakeholders, capacity building in required skills, technology updates, are all requisites for developing a spatially enabled society. NCSI is working closely working with stakeholders (Government and Semi Government entities) to support them effectively utilizing the GeoSpatial Information and technology to improve their business processes and make it more effective with Location Intelligence.

Initiative like Oman Geospatial Forum supports to promote such activities and interactions. I welcome you to this conference and hope you utilize this opportunity to benefit from technology exposure and learn from your peers.