Saudi Arabia to Host Global Smart City Forum in February

The Saudi Authority for Artificial Intelligence pavilion is seen at the Smart City Forum in Barcelona 2023. (SDAIA)
The Saudi Authority for Artificial Intelligence pavilion is seen at the Smart City Forum in Barcelona 2023. (SDAIA)
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Saudi Arabia to Host Global Smart City Forum in February

The Saudi Authority for Artificial Intelligence pavilion is seen at the Smart City Forum in Barcelona 2023. (SDAIA)
The Saudi Authority for Artificial Intelligence pavilion is seen at the Smart City Forum in Barcelona 2023. (SDAIA)

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) will host Saudi Arabia's first Global Smart City Forum in Riyadh from Feb. 12-13, with 80 speakers from over 40 countries.

The event will bring together global city experts, data specialists, artificial intelligence, digital solutions, smart city engineers, investors, and economic policymakers.

The forum aims to shape the future of cities using smart solutions and draw up basic rules that support city development plans to achieve sustainable urban development and enhance the quality of life.

It is scheduled to be hosted by eight countries: Saudi Arabia, Brazil, the US, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Qatar, and Spain.

According to the Global Smart City Forum, the world population is expected to grow to 10 billion by 2050, and 70% of these people will live in the smart urban cities that countries aim to establish.

SDAIA stated on its website that the forum seeks, through 80 international speakers, to enrich the topic of the future of smart cities in all its aspects, primarily to support governments' efforts in adopting innovative models for smart solutions.

It noted that smart solutions contribute to boosting efficiency and environmental sustainability and raising the quality of life for the residents.

The event also aims to motivate businessmen to invest in smart cities by building smart solutions that support innovation and achieve a balance between human requirements and the economic prosperity of cities.

The forum will include sessions and workshops with international experts in building and planning smart cities, investors, major universities, innovators, economic policymakers, and non-profit organizations.

It will also include dialogue sessions discussing the future of smart cities, the challenges facing their infrastructure, and finding innovative solutions to meet the needs of the growing population.

The forum aspires to establish a global platform for smart cities in Riyadh, where the world's best experts in building smart cities and artificial intelligence will gather for dialogue on important topics related to the future of these cities, name the future of urban mobility, smart public services, and planning green cities.

The Global Forum for Smart Cities was first launched in Barcelona, its main headquarters since 2011. It has expanded to various cities worldwide to discuss the challenges facing the urban future and stimulate development and innovation in building cities.



Norway Says Plans to Raise Financial Support for Ukraine

Ukrainian rescuers evacuate patients from a damaged clinic following a drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 01 March 2025, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
Ukrainian rescuers evacuate patients from a damaged clinic following a drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 01 March 2025, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
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Norway Says Plans to Raise Financial Support for Ukraine

Ukrainian rescuers evacuate patients from a damaged clinic following a drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 01 March 2025, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
Ukrainian rescuers evacuate patients from a damaged clinic following a drone attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 01 March 2025, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV

The Norwegian government will soon ask that parliament increases its financial backing for Ukraine, Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told public broadcaster NRK on Saturday.

"I can say today that we will go back to parliament in the near future with a proposal to increase the support," Stoere told NRK, according to Reuters.

Norway's parliament late last year agreed to spend a total of 35 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.12 billion) on military and civilian support for Ukraine in 2025 and a total of 155 billion crowns in the years from 2023 to 2030.

Stoere will meet with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in London on Sunday.

Zelenskiy's meeting with US President Donald Trump ended in disaster on Friday, after the two leaders clashed in an extraordinary exchange before the world's media at the White House over the war with Russia.