Opportunities and challenges in e-commerce were highlighted

Muscat: The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion organized the first edition of the Oman e-commerce forum on Monday at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center.

The forum was organized in the presence of Eng. Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Trade and Industry and Investment Promotion. Said bin Hamoud Al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, and a number of Their Excellencies and officials.

The event was also attended by a number of experts and specialists to review the e-commerce efforts of the Sultanate of Oman and GCC countries and highlight opportunities and challenges.

During his speech at the forum, Dr. Saleh bin Said Masan, Undersecretary for Trade and Industry at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion, said that e-commerce is an essential part of the modern global economy and plays a key role in strengthening economic and cultural relations between nations and achieving sustainable development by accelerating growth, expanding access to global markets, increasing opportunities for cross-border trade and investment, and stimulating innovation and product development.

Additionally, e-commerce plays a role in cultural communication between nations through the exchange of products, services and ideas.

He added that it was based on Oman Vision 2040, which focuses on a number of national priorities aimed at supporting and strengthening the e-commerce system in the Sultanate of Oman, such as economic diversification and financial development, private sector, investment and international cooperation.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion, in collaboration with UNCTAD and supporting partners, has prepared a country plan that has been launched and will begin implementing its programs and initiatives in 2022.

“The latest WTO reports show that the volume of global e-commerce sales in 2023 was USD 5.8 trillion, with an expected growth rate of 39% in the following years, due to the growing use of the Internet and smartphones, the development of financial technologies and expansion of sales via the Internet and global trading platforms.”

Director of Trade and E-Commerce at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion, Azza Ibrahim Al Kindi, gave a visual presentation on the National E-Commerce Plan and its importance, which aims to support and facilitate e-commerce in the Sultanate of Oman, addressing the challenges of with supply and demand and raising awareness among commercial enterprises and consumers.

Al Kindi also pointed out that the national e-commerce plan includes 8 core axes, namely e-commerce complex, information and communication technology infrastructure and services, transportation, logistics and trade facilitation, business facilitation, e-procurement , skills and awareness, payments and legal and regulatory frameworks.

These axes include 30 initiatives supporting the plan, which are distributed to the various government agencies participating in their respective areas of competence. She also mentioned the e-commerce regulation issued in September last year.

She also emphasized that the implementation rate of the national plan initiatives at the end of 2023 was 46%, implementing 14 initiatives supporting the plan during 2023.

These initiatives include one to encourage the development of private data centers, the provision of technical platforms specialized in e-commerce, the development of an electronic portal for commercial transactions and ensuring the availability of communication services at competitive prices.

Another initiative focuses on reducing postal parcel license fees and enabling postal companies to carry out customs clearance.

Another initiative is to encourage connectivity with neighboring countries, in addition to issuing a regulation on e-commerce, developing a trustmark for e-commerce enterprises and simplifying the registration of e-commerce enterprises.

In addition to previous initiatives, another has been developed to provide an enabling environment for innovation in electronic payments, review the Consumer Protection Act, the e-commerce program and implement the Oman Broadband Company network.

It is hoped that this year will see the completion of 3 initiatives supporting the national plan, with an implementation rate of 53%, namely the Know Your Customer application for the Central Bank, in addition to the issuance of a general policy for the postal services sector and the creation of fair and transparent postal duties in e-commerce.

Hassan bin Riyad Al-Kilani, Legal Advisor at the UAE Ministry of Economy, gave a visual presentation on the legal framework for inter-GCC e-commerce. The forum also included a discussion session during which we learned about the opportunities and challenges facing the e-commerce industry.

The forum highlighted the latest developments in the field of e-commerce and the exchange of best practices and successful regional experiences to contribute to strengthening regional cooperation and exchange of knowledge and experience in e-commerce and all aspects related to it.

The forum presented effective recommendations that contribute to improving the business environment and increasing the role of e-commerce in supporting economic growth and achieving sustainable development.

It is worth noting that the value of the e-commerce market in the Sultanate of Oman in 2023 was USD 2 billion and USD 289 million and is distributed among five main sectors, with electronics and media accounting for 32.9%, food and personal care products accounting for 25%. fashion by 22.2%, furniture and household appliances by 13.3%, and toys, hobbies and handicrafts by 6.6%.