Thursday 12 / June / 2025
Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman is participating in the 2nd Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange held in the People’s Republic of China.
The Omani delegation is headed by Dr. Rahma Ibrahim Al Mahrouqi, Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation.
In her speech at the conference, Dr. Rahma emphasised the importance of international cooperation in science and technology, praising the Belt and Road Initiative's role in strengthening scientific and research partnerships among participating nations. She also highlighted Oman Vision 2040 and its key pillars, which align with the objectives of the Science and Technology Exchange Initiative under the Belt and Road framework.
She noted Oman's key achievements since its first participation in the initiative, including the signing of an MoU on science and technology cooperation. This has led to several collaborative programs between Omani and Chinese universities, such as knowledge exchange in "smart campuses," enhanced scientific cooperation with Chinese private sector institutions—particularly global company Huawei—as well as student and researcher exchanges, and cultural cooperation through Chinese language education and Arabic teaching for non-native speakers.
On the sidelines of the event, the Minister held talks with Lin Xin, Vice Minister of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, exploring ways to enhance scientific and technical exchange in priority research areas such as environmental sciences, food security, medicine, health sciences (including traditional medicine), and artificial intelligence.
Discussions also covered expertise exchange in marine and ocean sciences, genetic resources, and mutual invitations to scientific conferences, including the upcoming Arab-Chinese Conference scheduled in August 2025. Additionally, they reviewed cooperation in cultural exchange, teaching each country's language in higher education institutions, and increasing mutual recognition of academic credentials.
During her visit to Sichuan University in Chengdu, the Minister explored potential collaboration in scientific and research programmes, particularly in creative arts. She also discussed partnership opportunities between Omani private higher education institutions and the Chinese university, including joint exhibitions, young researcher training, bilateral research projects, cultural student events, and cooperation in AI, IoT, and modern technologies.
