Oman advances 57 places in Global Quality Index

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman has advanced 57 places in the Global Quality Index issued by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

Currently, it is placed at the 60th place at the international level out of 155 countries and sixth place in the Middle East level, compared to the 117 place in the earlier edition of the index.

Dr. Saleh Said Masan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Industry and Commerce, said that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion has accorded due care and attention to the specifications and standards sector.

 He said that this achievement by the Sultanate of Oman reflects the direct impact of development of the national system of specifications and standards which started in 2022 and included seven basic initiatives, notably the electronic platform for measurement services (Hazm Platform), the Omani conformity system, establishment of Oman Accreditation Centre, the specifications initiative and control on precious metals among others.

The advancement in the index is the result of the development of the quality system and motivation and encouragement of innovation and making simple the export and import processes, which is evidence for the success of the national policies related to improvement of the business environment and attraction of foreign investments, he added.

The Ministry is working on investment in training of nationals in the field of standardisation to ensure continued advancement in this field and in achievement of high performance indices and development of digital system using artificial intelligence, he added.

Emad bin Khamis Al Shukaili, Director General of the Directorate General of Specifications and Metrology at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, said that the implementation of the strategic project of development of the national system for specifications and measurements goes hand in hand with the priorities of Oman Vision 2040 and the programme of the 10th five year plan and the joint efforts which included the digitalisation of the standards services and the development of the national labs.

He said that the quality index represents a significant tool for evaluation and improvement of the performance in the fields associated with quality.________ONA