Thursday 03 / July / 2025
Muscat: The Services and Public Utilities Committee of the Shura Council hosted specialists from the National Survey and Geospatial Information Authority to discuss the Draft National Geospatial Data and Information Law referred to the Council by the Government for review.
The meeting began with a presentation of the rationale and objectives of the draft law. According to the Authority’s representatives, the law seeks to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for setting national policies, standards, and technical specifications governing the collection, production, exchange, and dissemination of national geospatial data and information.
It further aims to unify the mechanisms for geospatial data production across both the public and private sectors in support of sustainable development plans and national infrastructure, and to enhance institutional integration among the relevant entities.
The meeting included extensive discussions on the articles of the draft law and explored potential mechanisms for its implementation by various state institutions.
The deliberations also assessed the law’s alignment with existing national legislation and regulations, as well as its consistency with international agreements to which the Sultanate of Oman is a party in this domain.
The Council held its eighth meeting for the second annual session (2024–2025) of the tenth term on Wednesday, under the chairmanship of Hamoud Ahmed Al Yahyaei, Head of the Committee, in the presence of Committee members.
It is worth noting that as part of its study of the draft law, the Committee had previously hosted a number of academic experts from Sultan Qaboos University to seek their input on various technical and scientific aspects of the legislation.
On another note, the Committee also reviewed its report on the assessment of the annual report of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, in accordance with Article (55) of the Law of the Council of Oman, which stipulates: "Service Ministers shall submit to the Shura Council an annual report on the stages of implementation of the projects pertaining to the ministries they head. The Council may summon any of them to present a statement on specific matters within the scope of their respective ministries and to discuss such matters with them."
