Saudi Arabia Shines Globally... and Seeks to Enhance the Digital Economy

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha met with a delegation from the World Bank Group's Executive Council. The discussions focused on enhancing partnership and cooperation with the World Bank in areas such as developing digital economy policies, advancing digital government, fostering innovation, and adopting generative artificial intelligence to shape future prospects. Al-Swaha emphasized that the qualitative progress achieved by the Kingdom under Vision 2030 is reflected in the World Bank's Digital Government Index, which ranked the Kingdom third globally. Additionally, he noted the growth in the number of digital talents in the sector, increasing from 150,000 to 354,000, and the significant leap in women's participation in the sector from 7% to 35%, which is the highest compared to the G20 average, the European Union, and Silicon Valley. He highlighted Saudi Arabia's efforts to adopt a focus methodology to transform government services into cloud-based and digital platforms, citing the attraction of $4.4 billion in investments in 2023 from major global companies to establish cloud service regions, alongside stimulating innovation and empowering digital entrepreneurship. As a result, the Kingdom has become the primary destination for venture capital in the region, with funding approaching $1 billion.