Page 97 - SAMENA Trends - September-October 2022
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REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS
Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology delivers the
speech at the Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU
The Minister of Communications and the first main session of the conference, progress towards a digital economy,
Information Technology, Chairman of the Al-Sawaha outlined the Kingdom’s work to detailing a USD 3 billion incentive package
Board of Directors of the Communications pursue the strategic goals of the ITU and that supported the connection of 3.5 million
and Information Technology Commission, ensure a sustainable digital future for all – houses to the optical fiber network (FTTH).
Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha, has drawing particular attention to the major Some of the top achievements highlighted
delivered Saudi Arabia’s speech at the achievements in the domestic and global by the Minister included Saudi Arabia’s top
International Telecommunication Union’s digital arena carried out in collaboration ten global rankings in internet speed and
(ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference (PP22), with the ITU over the last four years. penetration, top three ranking globally in
held in Bucharest, Romania. Addressing Al-Sawaha highlighted the Kingdom’s the digital divide (scoring less than 1%), and
the Kingdom’s second placing among G20
countries in spectrum allocation. Turning
to digitalization and society, His Excellency
drew attention to Saudi Arabia’s growing
resource of digital skills and capabilities,
where ICT jobs increased from 150K to 318k
over the past four years to form region's
largest pool of digital talent. Moreover,
women's participation in the digital field has
exceeded 30.5%, higher than the EU, G20,
and Silicon Valley averages. Al-Sawaha
revealed that digital entrepreneurship
has tripled in the Kingdom, with this
year’s venture capital financing exceeding
the total value of the previous three
years. Saudi Arabia has presented three
unicorn companies to the region, while
this year women's participation in digital
entrepreneurship reached a level three
times higher than previous score. Looking
to the future, Al-Sawaha described the many
ways in which the Kingdom is harnessing
technology and innovation to create smart
cities, the foremost example being THE
LINE that forms part of the NEOM project.
THE LINE is a civilizational revolution that
puts humans first, with no carbon emissions
and 95% of land preserved for nature. It will
also be the location of Saudi Arabia’s world-
scale, green-hydrogen-based ammonia
production facility – a USD 5 billion project
that reflects the Kingdom’s commitment
to maintaining its leading position in the
field of renewable energy. Al-Sawaha
concluded his speech by conveying the
Kingdom's pride in its 57-year membership
of the ITU. He stressed Saudi Arabia’s
determination to continue its efforts to
support the Union’s initiatives, consultation
groups, committees and councils through
its presidency, membership or sponsorship,
in order to reinforce the ITU’s promotion of
increased coordination and standardization
in the digital world, to empower humanity
and enable a prosperous future for all.
97 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022
