Oman Maps Its Tech Future to 2040 in C4IR Foresight Workshop

Oman is setting up a formal way to look ahead at new technology. On 21 October 2026, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) ran a Technology Foresight workshop through the Oman Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR Oman), in partnership with the World Economic Forum. National institutions used the session to test a technology roadmap running to 2040. They also linked the new phase of the National Digital Economy Programme to global trend signals. The aim is to spot technology shifts early instead of reacting after they arrive.

📌 Key Takeaways

• What happened: MTCIT, through C4IR Oman and with the World Economic Forum, held a hands-on Technology Foresight workshop for national entities working on the digital economy and future planning, according to the ministry's announcement.
• Main output: Participants built and tested a roadmap from today to 2040. The workshop ended with a review of Oman's national technology foresight model and its method, as Oman Observer reported.
• Link to policy: The exercises used World Economic Forum "Transformation Maps" on the executive programmes of the second phase of the National Digital Economy Programme (2026-2030).
• Tool launch: On 22 October the ministry launched a Strategic Intelligence Platform with the World Economic Forum. It is meant to "monitor emerging trends and future developments", according to MTCIT's launch release.
• Still missing: The official releases give no attendance figures, no list of participating entities, and no date for publishing the foresight model.

🔭 What Happened in Muscat

The workshop ran alongside the launch of the second phase of the National Digital Economy Programme. MTCIT said it brought together national entities and institutions working on the digital economy, foresight and future planning. Its goals were to improve coordination between them and to build Oman's technology foresight ecosystem.

This was a working session, not a set of speeches. According to Oman Observer, participants:

• Practised foresight tools and methods, including how to spot early signals of technology change and new trends
• Drafted and tested a roadmap from the present to 2040, identifying the forces shaping the future and the milestones needed to reach the desired outcome
• Applied Transformation Maps to the executive programmes of the National Digital Economy Programme, so programme teams can follow related signals and trends
• Reviewed Oman's national technology foresight model and its method, with the aim of creating one shared national practice

That statement was reported by GCC Business News. The outlet described the effort as a national system that helps Oman spot early signs of technology change and build future trends into policy, investment and innovation plans.

🤖 The AI Tool and the Strategic Intelligence Platform

Al Salehi also said the partnership with the World Economic Forum supports decision-making through an artificial intelligence tool. He said it would launch on Thursday, 22 October, together with the second phase of the programme and its executive programmes. Oman Observer reported that programme owners can use it to strengthen their programmes and track global developments, because it draws on global challenges and international experience.

The next day's launch ceremony was held under the patronage of the Minister of Finance, H.E. Sultan bin Salim Al Habsi. According to MTCIT, the ceremony also launched the programme's Strategic Intelligence Platform, built with the World Economic Forum. Its job is to monitor new trends and use data and knowledge in policymaking. The ministry's release does not say whether this platform is the same AI tool Al Salehi described. Readers should treat the two descriptions as closely related, not as confirmed to be identical.

📊 What the Foresight Work Is Meant to Steer

The roadmap exercise was tied to concrete targets. MTCIT's launch release sets these goals for 2026-2030:

The foresight system is supposed to help the teams running these programmes adjust as technologies such as generative AI, quantum computing or new network architectures develop, instead of locking in plans that date quickly.

⚖️ What to Watch, and the Limits

• No published outputs yet: Neither MTCIT nor the press coverage has released the 2040 roadmap or the national foresight model. Their quality cannot be judged yet.
• Who uses it: Foresight only matters if ministries and programme owners act on it. A key test is whether the Strategic Intelligence Platform is built into budget and programme reviews.
• Openness: The releases describe government and institutional participants. They do not mention startups, universities or private investors, who also need early warning of technology change.

The workshop adds to a busy autumn for Oman's innovation infrastructure. In September, the Research and Innovation Authority opened the Midad Digital Centre in Muscat for AI and 5G talent. C4IR Oman's foresight work sits one level higher: it shapes which technologies the state prepares for in the first place. For a longer view of how these themes have changed, see our earlier look at the technology trends reshaping business in Oman.

🇴🇲 Why this matters for Oman

Oman Vision 2040 relies on choosing the right technologies early. That covers data centres in Salalah, AI zones in Muscat and the digital skills needed to keep Omanisation rising. A national foresight method, built with the World Economic Forum and tested against the second phase of the digital economy programme, gives policymakers a shared tool for those choices. If the roadmap and platform are actually used in decisions, and their outputs are shared beyond government, investors, universities and founders in Oman could plan around the same signals the state is tracking. Without that follow-through, the workshop will have been a well-run exercise with little effect.