The meeting began with a speech delivered by Hamdan bin Mohammed Al-Alawi, Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies Program at the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology. He emphasised that the National Open Data Portal is one of the key initiatives within the National Program for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Digital Technologies, launched by the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology with the blessing of the esteemed Council of Ministers in September 2024. This program includes a number of strategic initiatives and projects aimed at adopting and localising artificial intelligence technologies in economic and developmental sectors, building national capacities, supporting scientific research, and empowering startups working in the field of artificial intelligence, in addition to governing this vital sector to ensure its sustainability and integration with the digital transformation trends in the Sultanate of Oman.

He also mentioned that the ministry, during the past period, held a number of specialised meetings with various government entities, during which the mechanism of the portal's operation and its policies and technical requirements were explained, in addition to training work teams on how to manage and share their data through the portal. Today's meeting is a continuation of these efforts in this field.

Azan bin Qais Al-Kindi, the CEO of Rahhal Company, delivered a speech in which he reviewed the company's role in developing the National Open Data Portal, highlighting its key features and advantages that facilitate data exchange, improve user experience, and enhance the dissemination of government data according to global standards that ensure transparency and ease of access to information.

The meeting witnessed the honouring of several outstanding government institutions in the National Open Data Portal, in appreciation of their efforts in publishing and updating data according to quality and transparency standards. The recognition included distinguished entities in four main categories: data quality and documentation, volume of contribution, continuity in updating, and response speed. This recognition comes as an enhancement of the efforts of government entities in improving data quality and achieving sustainability in publishing and updating on the National Open Data Platform.

The meeting included a presentation of the experiences of several government institutions in the field of open data, highlighting the key practices and challenges in developing data management systems and ensuring their continuous updating. The ministry also presented an overview of the evaluation criteria for government entities in the field of open data within the framework of the government digital transformation assessment, aiming to enhance compliance with publishing and updating standards and encourage entities to improve their performance.

The meeting concluded with an extensive discussion session attended by representatives from various government institutions, during which experiences were exchanged and ways to enhance cooperation and expand the scope of published data were discussed to serve decision-makers, the research community, and entrepreneurs.