During the past several weeks, the global ICT community has met and agreed to accelerate collaborative efforts relating to the security of Cyberspace, empowerment of Citizens, protection of Children, fostering Innovation & 5G Advancements, unlocking New Investment Capital, accelerating Digital Literacy, and making progress on Sustainable Economic Growth. SAMENA Council’s participation in three of the world’s leading global forums has added to the Industry’s strong voice, reaffirming the Council’s commitment to representing the Private Sector across the ICT arena and to support worldwide efforts on digital transformation.
During the Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF), held in Saudi Arabia, SAMENA Council, represented by CEO & Board Member, Bocar BA, chaired a high-level roundtable on Advancing Collective Action in Cyberspace. He also participated in a panel discussion, centered on Safeguarding Future Networks, and was among key leaders participating in the Annual Meeting of the Forum.
SAMENA Council’s contributions in the GCF focused on aligning strategies and accelerating collaboration for enhanced digital safety, and on coordinating harmonized stakeholder actions for securing networks and making networks resilient.
The GCF 2024 and SAMENA Council’s active contributions in it, have demonstrated that collaboration must be built around shared opportunities in Cyberspace, to empower and protect people worldwide, while creating a trust-based digital environment. Policymakers and experts at the GCF continued the dialogue initiated over the years, and emphasized on the need for developing global ICT talent and protecting young minds.
Established as an independent, non-profit organization in 2023, GCF announced numerous projects and partnerships at this year’s GCF Annual Meeting. “A range of new projects will be launched under GCF’s umbrella, addressing some of the key issues and opportunities in Cyberspace, from cyber economics, to closing the cybersecurity workforce and skills gap, and ensuring that Cyberspace is safe and secure for children,” stated HE Majed bin Mohammed Al-Mazyed, NCA Governor.
BA, in a recent media engagement held after GCF also stated: “Cybersecurity is among the key areas of the Council’s involvement in Saudi Arabia. We work with the NCA, National Cybersecurity Authority through the Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF), where we are addressing cybersecurity issues and contributing the global dialogue on securing the cyberspace, ensuring overall cyber safety for both digital systems as well as children. The successful GCF witnessed great openness among industry stakeholders on cybersecurity issues, and how widely this dialogue needs to be maintained.”
Following the GCF, during the Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF), held recently in Turkey, SAMENA Council voiced the need to accelerate Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) growth, 5G investment monetization, as well as adoption of 5G-Advanced. BA emphasized that "Operators in the SA-ME-NA region and in the neighboring regions, including Central Asia, have invested heavily in 5G networks. However, satisfactorily monetizing these investments remains a critical challenge. This requires being innovative and collaboration-oriented in order to meet connectivity and digital transformation goals. Through cross-sharing of deployment experiences, challenges, methodologies, and other useful information, new approaches can be adopted in deploying FWA more speedily, and more efficiently. "
At the recently-held Global Innovation Forum (GIF) in Malta, organized by the ITU, SAMENA Telecommunications Council brought valuable insights to discussions on the global digital transformation landscape. Bocar BA highlighted the central role of innovation in driving digital transformation, urging stakeholders to foster environments conducive to rapid technological growth. He emphasized that private sector engagement and sovereign wealth funds are essential for resource accessibility, reinforcing the need for collaboration to scale digital infrastructure. BA also advocated policy experimentation, such as regulatory sandboxing, to safely explore emerging solutions, while stressing the importance of job creation and digital literacy—two areas essential to the long-term success of digital economies.
“It was a privilege to be a part of ITU's flagship event, the Global Innovation Forum (GIF), and contribute to the dialogue. Digital transformation processes crucially require innovation, and need investment & access to capital, as well as policy experimentation. We must accelerate digital literacy and create more jobs. This is possible with Private Sector, Governments, and Sovereign Wealth Funds working closely together in creating access to required resources.”, stated BA.
The Global Innovation Forum has identified key ways to help close the “digital innovation gap.” The suggested approaches, focusing on critical factors that include expanding collaboration, attracting investment, spurring sustainable economic growth, and finding solutions to pressing societal challenges through accelerated, localized technology innovation.
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