Oman’s logistics performance, over the past two years, significantly improved and jumped five places from 48th to occupy the 43rd position in the World Bank’s recently released Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2018 report.

The LPI helps countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their trade logistics performance and how they can improve performance, said the Oman Daily Observer report.

The bi-annual LPI report measures countries across the six components of; efficiency of customs and border management clearance, quality of trade and transport infrastructure, ease of arranging competitively priced shipments, competence and quality of logistics services, ability to track and trace consignments, and the frequency with which shipments reach consignees within scheduled or expected delivery times, it added.

Oman showed marked improvements in the efficiency of customs services and timeliness. These improvements drove Oman’s continued climb up the international rankings, it said.

Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, said that the new ranking is a true reflection of the ongoing efforts made by the government organisations and the logistics community to implement the National Logistics Strategy to improve the sultanate’s global competitiveness.

He added that this improvement displays Oman’s competitiveness and continued improvement in the logistics sector as we aim to be among the top 30 countries in 2020 and the top 10 in 2040.

Al Futaisi noted that the logistics sector plays a significant role in Oman’s economy and is key to increasing foreign investment, diversification into non-oil exports and the nation’s international competitiveness and the sultanate seeks to position itself as an advanced logistics hub recognised globally.