Dear Colleagues and friends,

It’s a great pleasure welcoming you to the year 2020 virtual edition of the Muscat International Ophthalmology Conference (MIOC). This year as you all know we are struck by the devastating COVID 19 pandemic making us confined to our own home & workplace. Yet, the technology brings us all together as professionals and academics, without letting us keep everything behind. The MIOC has become one of the major international meetings in the region that focuses on advances in the field of ophthalmology bringing the most prominent and outstanding experts across the world to a single platform. The scientific program is a balanced mix of major topics that helps attendees receive information on new developments that also impact their clinical management of patients. The vision of the MIOC 2020 is focused on the anticipated rise of the demand for ophthalmic care which exceeds the resources available in the country. We look into Artificial Intelligence as one possible path to lessen the burden on the health care system. The keynote lecture on “Artificial Intelligence and its Application in Ophthalmology” would be an eye-opener to all, to explore the endless application of technology in ophthalmology. Organizing this event would not have been possible without the unprecedented support given to us by the distinguished faculties from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the International Society of Refractive Surgery, and our neighboring ophthalmology societies from Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia. Our extreme gratitude goes to them and all the other faculties as well for accepting our invitation to share the knowledge and expertise. Our special thanks go to DocMode for proving us with the conference platform and technical support. As you know that innovation and development in medicine generally due to an accumulative effort since thousands of years till it reaches us as it is now. Last year we have celebrated and launched the Omani physician Ibn Omairah who wrote a famous manuscript on the eye and other parts of the body and this year we are celebrating Omani physician Ibn Al Dhahabi who wrote 1st medical dictionary with definitions of different human parts and names of different herbs used for the treatment of human diseases one thousand years ago i.e. around 10th century AD. We are engaged in assembling his old book Almaa and translating to the English language as well. I wish you all a great experience of virtual conferencing with your own desktop or mobile while enjoying your home comfort. Stay safe.