RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Abdullah Al-Swaha, said on Tuesday that the Kingdom ranks third in 5G deployment globally after the United States and South Korea.

Additionally, Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides investments opportunities in the Kingdom worth nearly SR40 billion.

“AI is expected to create 133 million jobs worldwide in the coming ten years, while 75 million other jobs will fade,” Al-Swaha added during the Budget 2020 Forum held Tuesday.

He noted that Saudi Arabia’s share of the global workforce is expected to hit between 0.5 and 1% of the new jobs forecast to be poured into the market, as the Kingdom ranks 18th among the world’s Top 20 Economies.

“There will be a great chance for the private sector and entrepreneurs to seize this opportunity,” he stressed.

The telecom sector’s contribution to the Saudi gross domestic product (GDP) rose during 2019 to 4% from 3.6%. Similarly, the Saudization rate also advanced to 44% in 2019 from 40%, the Saudi minister concluded. — SG