Oman Pivots to Indigenous AI Development After Joining Beijing-Founded 29-Nation Governance Body

Oman Pivots to Indigenous AI Development After Joining Shanghai-Founded 29-Nation Governance Body

Oman is launching the second phase of its National AI Programme (2026-2030), shifting from adopting foreign AI tools to building domestic research and technology capabilities, after becoming one of 29 founding members of the new Global AI Cooperation Organisation announced in Shanghai. The strategy centers on an AI Special Zone established under royal decree, positioning Oman to compete with the UAE and Saudi Arabia as the Gulf region's next AI infrastructure hub. The 29-member body represents a parallel track to Western-led AI regulation frameworks, giving middle powers a seat at a new multilateral table as global AI governance increasingly fragments.

Oman Joins 29-Nation AI Governance Body and Bets on Becoming the Gulf's Third AI Hub

Oman joined a 29-nation AI governance body established in Shanghai this month, and it is already converting that diplomatic membership into industrial strategy. The second phase of its National AI Programme, covering 2026 through 2030, shifts the country from adopting foreign AI tools to building domestic research, computing capacity, and technology capabilities 1. The move positions Oman as a dark-horse third contender in the Gulf's AI race, where the UAE and Saudi Arabia have built mature ecosystems backed by years of capital deployment and hyperscaler partnerships 2.

Global AI governance appears to be splitting into competing blocs, and the Gulf is becoming the terrain where that fragmentation turns physical: data centers, research labs, and regulatory regimes built under different normative umbrellas. Oman's combination of a seat at a Shanghai-based governance body and a royal-decree investment zone is the mechanism it is using to compete.

A Shanghai-based parallel to Western AI rules

Oman signed the agreement establishing the body in Shanghai, alongside the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, becoming one of 29 founding members 3. The body is described as an independent intergovernmental body aimed at strengthening international cooperation and making AI safer and more inclusive, while helping bridge the divide between countries at different stages of AI development 3.

It runs as a parallel track to the EU AI Act and US executive orders, giving middle powers a multilateral venue that is not dominated by Western regulatory frameworks. Oman's delegation was led by Dr Ali bin Amer al Shaithani, Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, who noted that Oman has also participated in the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance under UN auspices 3.

The scale gap Oman must close

Oman cannot match its neighbors on spending or ecosystem depth. Dubai ranked fourth and Abu Dhabi eighth in Counterpoint Research's 2025 AI cities index, while Muscat did not make the top 100 2. The country has roughly 22 AI-specialised companies and 62 government entities connected to cloud services, a foundation that falls well short of the infrastructure the UAE and Saudi Arabia have accumulated 2.

Ahmad Shehab, a research analyst at Counterpoint Research, argued that Oman's Vision 2040 will likely strengthen the national economy but is unlikely to turn the country into a regional AI hub under current parameters, because AI leadership requires regulatory frameworks, talent pipelines, and ecosystem coordination that established Gulf hubs have spent years building 2.

Oman's counter rests on assets it has leaned into deliberately. The Sultanate hosts one of the Middle East's highest concentrations of international submarine cable landings, giving it direct access to data routes linking Asia, Africa, and Europe 2. Energy costs are competitive, and its neutral diplomatic posture could appeal to entities seeking sovereign AI infrastructure outside the US-China rivalry. Kamel Al-Tawil, Equinix's managing director for the Middle East and North Africa, said Oman offers a value proposition that complements rather than competes directly with larger Gulf markets 2.

The AI Special Zone as policy proof

The strategy's centerpiece is the AI Special Zone, established under Royal Decree 50/2026, which offers tax incentives, full foreign ownership, and streamlined regulations to attract investment in semiconductors, robotics, and AI-ready data centers 2. The zone operates within Oman Vision 2040, a national program targeting a digital economy contribution of at least 5% of GDP by 2030 2.

The first phase of the National AI Programme (2021-2025) produced Mu'een, Oman's national generative AI model, built on more than 3,000 local datasets with contributions from 60 government institutions 1. The second phase targets expanded high-performance computing, quantum computing research, and further development of the national model 1. The Oman Digital Triangle initiative, targeting green AI data center clusters, runs alongside the Special Zone 1.

What this means for the map

The linkage between the governance seat and the investment zone is what makes Oman's play distinctive. Membership in the Shanghai body gives the AI Special Zone a diplomatic dimension that the UAE's and Saudi Arabia's AI infrastructure programs do not have: a seat at a non-Western normative table. The Special Zone, in turn, gives that governance membership a concrete economic stake. The other 28 signatories now have a working example of how to turn a multilateral governance seat into tax incentives, data centers, and compute capacity. That is what the fragmentation of global AI governance produces: not competing white papers, but competing industrial parks.