Khalid Al-Mudhafar is the Director General of the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI). He has over 30 years of experience in statistics and is able to clearly articulate the importance of data and information dissemination in the Sultanate of Oman. His view on the role of statistics in the logistics industry is highlighted below in an in-depth interview.

What is NCSI’s task here in Oman?
NCSI’s main duty is to provide timely research and accurate data to decision makers, researchers, and the public. The job of statistics is to help administrators and other stakeholders make the right decisions. As it is today, NCSI is only about three years old, but statistics in Oman started long ago, probably in the seventies. For years, statisticians have focused on compiling and communicating social and economic indicators to make the work of Oman’s decision makers more strategic and precise.

What types of publications does NCSI produce?
We publish plenty of publications annually — maybe no less than 20 publications. An annual Statistical Yearbook for all sectors is our largest, most well-known publication. Monthly bulletins and specialized bulletins are released for various sectors as well. We use two different sources of data: administrative records and surveys or studies. We pull data from public records and extensive surveys, then use the data to highlight what’s really going on in the Sultanate, by the numbers.

How is NCSI supporting the logistics sector? What are your recent activities and future plans?
Logistics is quite new, and, to be honest, it’s not well-defined internationally. If I tell you what I think logistics is, and you tell me what you think logistics is, we may each have something else in mind. We need to use the same language.

Therefore, with the cooperation of the National Logistics Strategy (NLS), we started our work by searching for a working definition of logistics. We found only best practices, which we used to start to define the sector ourselves. This was our first challenge.

After researching and examining data, we have a clear definition, which was made public during the Tanfeedh program in 2016.

We are currently collecting data related to the logistics sector, and look forward to signing an MOU with NLS soon to assess their organization and measure their progress in a proper way.

Our future plans involve publishing a quarterly bulletin about the logistics sector. We are hoping to start production of the publication by the middle of this year, depending on the signing of this important MOU with the NLS.

How do you see the logistics sector benefiting from your work?
Our data highlights progress and challenges in each sector, to give an indication about whether things are on the right track or not. Based on this data, leaders in the logistics industry will make big decisions.

Our duty ends when we provide the data. The data is transformed into information, which is a great benefit. One could even say that information is a weapon! It will greatly benefit the sector to get a solid, researched look at where things stand.

What are the main challenges you are facing?
Challenges are there in every job. For us, one major challenge is a shortage of staff. We hope this situation will improve soon, as we’ve requested additional staff from the NLS. Compiling data is a challenge, because measuring logistics is brand new for our team. We’ve never been to the field to retrieve such data. Of course, this learning curve is completely normal, and should be expected for any new endeavor.

We go to ports and other centers of logistics work in Oman and survey companies and other important stakeholders. Our goal is to measure the contribution of logistics to Oman’s GDP. How can we increase the share of logistics within the national GDP?

Are there any reports currently available about Oman’s logistics sector?
Internationally there are competitiveness reports, which rank countries overall and by specific sectors. The MOTC is striving to enhance Oman’s ranking, which would boost foreign investment and increase the number of jobs.

Recently, after compiling results of the World Economic Forum Competitiveness Survey, we were able to see strengths, weaknesses, and gaps across various sectors in Oman. Of the 140 questions on the survey, several, including the very first questions listed, were specifically about logistics. We created a report that clearly outlines the urgent needs (in red) and the areas in which Oman is doing well (in green). It’s important to not just say, “Oman is weak in some areas.” Which areas? We must be specific so that we can improve in specific ways. That is what statistics is all about.

Now that you’ve begun to specifically research the logistics sector, what is your view on its value in the Sultanate?
Statistics always show the potential of any given sector, and reports can give a clear picture of what may be possible now and in the years to come. Sometimes I have something in mind, but statistics can change my mind about any given subject.

According to our data, logistics is an extremely promising sector, and so is tourism. In fact, I believe these two industries are the future of Oman.