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Central Government

Singapore forges new e-gov deal with Oman

By Robin Hicks | 21 October 2009

Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority has struck a new deal with the Information Technology Authority of Oman (ITA) to further develop the Sultanate’s e-government infrastructure.

The city-state has been working with the government of Oman since 2007, a relationship which has seen Singaporean companies help build Oman’s IT capability in the education, healthcare, tourism and finance sectors.

The extended deal will see the two countries collaborate on a range of new projects, however the IDA would not go into detail on the nature of the initiatives.

Dr Steve Hodgkinson, Research Director, Public Sector, at technology analyst firm Ovum, and the former Deputy CIO for the Victorian State Government in Melbourne, told FutureGov that because the two countries are similar in size, and have similar governance structures, the relationship has worked well to date – and future projects are likely to succeed too.

Past Singapore-Oman projects have included the Ubar E-Government Portal, the development of the Oman eGovernment Enterprise Architecture, and the establishment of a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) for Oman.

“Middle East governments, as any, are embarking on their ICT journeys, and many of them see Singapore as a viable model to aspire towards,” said an IDA spokesperson. “The renewed MOU highlights the continued strong relationship between Singapore and Oman in our common aspiration towards a knowledge-based economy and society.”

Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive Officer of the IDA, added: “Singapore has gained much experience in the development and implementation of a wide range of ICT projects in the government and various economic sectors over the years. The deep domain knowledge of Singapore infocomm companies can contribute to the development and adoption of ICT in Oman.”

To date, Singapore has succeeded in selling its e-government model to countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean and South Africa, as well as the Middle East. However, beyond Brunei, it has been unable to establish a foothold in a country nearby in Asia Pacific.

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