Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha met on Wednesday with Beijing Mayor Yin Yong to further develop the partnership between Saudi Arabia and China in the fields of technology, space and innovation.

Eng. Al-Swaha has discussed with the Beijing Mayor partnership in the smart cities technologies and efforts to develop the technological competencies. They also discussed facilitating the access of pioneering Saudi companies into Beijing's markets, as well as exchanging experiences in a number of technological fields such as digital entrepreneurship and legislation related to the growth of the digital economy.

The meeting was attended by Vice Minister of Communications and Information Technology Haytham Al-Ohali and Saudi Ambassador to China Abdulrahman Al-Harbi.

The minister also met with the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang, during which they discussed ways to expand the partnership in research, development and innovation, especially in the aspects of health, environmental sustainability, the energy industry, and economics of the future, which fit into national priorities set by Saudi Arabia for research, development and innovation.

The meetings come within the framework of Eng. Al-Swaha's ongoing visit to China with the aim of strengthening relations between government agencies and private sector companies in technological fields, and developing the system of emerging national companies, in addition to attracting investments and venture capital funds.