Oman will launch its first space satellite in 2024, as part of its efforts to join the club of spacefaring nations, Dr. Said Hamoud Al-Mawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology said.

Speaking ahead of the country’s 50th National Day, the Minister said Oman’s plans to go to space actually began in 2006.

“We have to address the role of the private sector to this effect, and establish a company to launch the first satellite in 2024,” he said.

“There are practical advantage for our national space program, advanced technology, and artificial intelligence.”

The Minister said the Sultanate’s space program is a key indicator for his Ministry, and will be announced in 2021.

In addition to working with the private sector on space exploration, Al-Mawali said the government is also looking to promoting its increased involvement in the country’s infrastructure projects.

“We have about 40,000km of paved roads in the country. The government has spent a lot on infrastructure, and the upcoming stage involving these completed projects will look at how their contribution to the economy can be improved, so that they continue more to the GDP of the country,” he noted.

“The Sultanate has accorded due care and attention to the transport, communications and information technology sector, led by late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Bin Taimour since the dawn of the blessed renaissance,” he revealed.

“We are heading forward with the march of the renaissance under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik,” Al-Mawali concluded.

On 18 August 2020, HRM Oman’s Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said issued 28 new royal decrees, establishing Ministries, merging and renaming some of the Ministries, among others.

Among the decrees announced were establishing the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and defining their functions and approving their organizational structure.