The Centre, representing the Sultanate of Oman, participated in the United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) held in Deqing, Zhejiang Province, China, between November 19 and 23, 2018.

The Congress titled UNWGIC, themed "The Geospatial Way to a Better World," addressed the role of geospatial information in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals 2030 as well as focused on the application of geospatial information in social, economic and environmental development. The Congress provided a participatory and inclusive medium to improve the knowledge, understanding, and application of geospatial information management to address local, regional and global challenges.

The UNWGIC was organized as part of recommendation of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UNGGIM) meeting held in August 2018 at the United Nations headquarters in New York to promote comprehensive dialogue on global geospatial information management with all relevant governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sectors.

The Congress also served as an opportunity to exchange ideas and share experiences to find the best solutions and practices for the use of geospatial information in statistical and developmental fields.

Besides emphasizing the importance of geospatial information to support technological development, the Congress also involved exchange of information and application of best practices for development and strengthening of geospatial information management systems and capacities, as well as management and integration of statistical and geospatial information to achieve sustainable development.

A number of topics were also discussed during workshops and meetings held as part of the conference. There were several other events organized on the sidelines of the conference.

The Sultanate of Oman, represented by NCSI, is the president of the fourth working group on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information at the Arab Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management as per the general framework of the official working groups of the regional committees of UNGGIM.