DAVOS — Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology provided an insight into the Kingdom’s plans to become a “digital nation” at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meeting here Wednesday.

Speaking alongside four fellow ministers on a panel entitled ‘Country Strategy Dialogue on Saudi Arabia’, Abdullah Alswaha gave an update on the digitization of the Kingdom. In particular, he highlighted how through the Vision 2030 reform program, it is embracing the spirit of innovation embodied by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Emphasizing the Kingdom’s potential, Alswaha said: “We have gone a long way in delivering on Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Starting with the strategic pillars of the vision, the first one being that we are at the heart of the Muslim world. Today, we are both the largest economy and the largest technology market in the region. We are open for business, inviting partners to join hands with us on this exciting journey and use the Kingdom as a destination to trial innovative new ideas.”

Alswaha explained how this policy tied in to another of the key pillars of Vision 2030 — becoming an investment powerhouse — as the Kingdom continues its development. He said: “We are balancing the build, acquire and partner approaches to development. In the way that we have partnered, through the Vision Fund, with the likes of ARM, WeWork and Slack, we are also super charging the economy with investment, including three billion dollars going to connecting more than two million homes, schools and healthcare providers with high speed fiber in addition to enabling a nationwide rollout of a 5G network. These will make sure we build the digital future of the nation.”

On Saudi Arabia’s strategic geographic position, Alswaha focused on the Kingdom’s signature Fourth Industrial Revolution project: the megacity NEOM. It is estimated that the adoption of the Internet of Things could contribute over USD100 billion cumulative GDP by 2030. He said: “As we aspire to be the interconnection between three continents, we are establishing the hub for innovation, knowledge and technology transfer through NEOM, a city likely to have a population of more robots than people.”

The ‘Country Strategy Dialogue on Saudi Arabia’ panel, moderated by Mirek Dusek, WEF’s head of regional strategies for the Middle East and Africa, featured contributions from all members of the Saudi delegation including: Khalid Al-Falih, minister for energy, industry and mineral resources, Nabeel Al-Amoudi, minster for transport, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, minister of finance, and Mohammed Al Tuwaijri, minister of economy and planning.

Special guests on the panel were Ibrahim Al-Assaf, minister of state, Dr. Majid Al-Kasabi, minister of commerce and investment, Eng. Ibrahim Al Omar, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA),

Princess Reem Bint Bandar Al-Saud, vice-president of development and planning at the Saudi Arabian General Sports Authority, and Faisal Al Sugair, president of the Saudi Center for International Strategic Partnerships.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos is taking place from Jan. 23 to 26. Alswaha is also expected to contribute to a session on the Internet of Things during his time at the event. — SG