On behalf of SICOT’s Congress Organising Committee, it is our pleasure to be celebrating the 40th SICOT Orthopaedic World Congress and the 90th anniversary of SICOT with you all. This will be the second time the event has been held here in the Gulf and the very first for it to be held in Muscat, Oman.

With doctors attending from all over the world it is fitting that this is taking place here, in a region that has served as a focal point in the exchange of trade, knowledge and culture between the East and West for millennia. Oman’s history dates back 5000 years and it is the oldest country in the Gulf, with an empire that once controlled the seas from the straits of Hormuz to the coastlines of East Africa. From the Silk Route, which saw the exchange of goods between Europe, India and China, to the production of frankincense and its trading ports across East Africa, Oman possesses a rich history in commerce, making it an open-minded multicultural society.

It is in this atmosphere of exchange and diversity that myself along with the Programme Chair, Mr Vikas Khanduja and the SICOT Programme Committee are proud to bring you this Congress in collaboration with the Pan Arab Orthopaedic Association. We are expecting this to be one of the largest congresses to date, and it will provide a golden opportunity for young and mature orthopaedic surgeons in the form of workshops, lectures, free paper sessions, symposia and presentations on recent advancements in orthopaedics. We are already planning on bringing back some favourite features from the Congress in 2018; the wickedly fast ‘Just-A-Minute’ presentations (one abstract, one minute, one slide, one question!) and fantastic Keynote Lectures to open free paper sessions (given by key opinion leaders), but there will also be some surprises for those who have been to a SICOT Congress before. For the first time we will be holding the International Hip Dysplasia Congress in partnership with the International Hip Dysplasia Institute as part of the meeting, and you should keep an eye out for which other new partner societies we have on board.

We, the Organising Committee, have put the programme together as always with inclusiveness at its heart; like the merchants on the Silk Road, we hope to encourage sharing from East to West, from young to old. Whether you are attending for the first time and will be taking the SICOT Diploma Examination or you are coming again to give a lecture and meet old friends, we are looking forward to seeing you and will make every effort to ensure you have a memorable experience.