RIYADH — Saudi Arabia ranked first across the Arab world and 22nd globally in the Global Artificial Intelligence Index, showed Tortoise Intelligence Index report.

The Kingdom ranked second worldwide in the “Government Strategy” standard, and took 9th place globally in the “Operating environment” standard, according to the report.

The Global AI Index is underpinned by 143 indicators split across seven sub-pillars: Talent, Infrastructure, Operating Environment, Research, Development, Government Strategy and Commercial.

Saudi Arabia moved up seven places compared to last year, as it came in 29th across the world in 2019, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.

The Kingdom's remarkable progress in the global AI index in one year affirmed the leadership's keenness and constant support for this pivotal sector at the national level, the President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi said.

Al-Ghamdi pointed out that Saudi Arabia secured a high ranking as a result of the efforts to integrate government agencies and entities that participated in the implementation of the National Transformation Program (NTP) initiatives in line with the Kingdom's 2030 vision. — SG