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GAIN Summit Kicks off in Riyadh Under Patronage of Saudi Crown Prince

The third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit), organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
The third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit), organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
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GAIN Summit Kicks off in Riyadh Under Patronage of Saudi Crown Prince

The third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit), organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
The third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit), organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)

The third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN Summit), organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday under the patronage of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the SDAIA's Board of Directors.

The event, which runs through September 12, features 450 speakers and attendees from 100 countries, including prominent figures in the field of AI, policymakers, and thought leaders.

At the summit, 150 sessions and workshops will be held.

The opening ceremony was attended by several prominent figures, including members of the Royal Family, ministers, foreign officials, thought leaders, and executives from leading technology and AI companies from around the globe, alongside ambassadors accredited to the Kingdom.

In his opening speech, SDAIA President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi expressed gratitude to Crown Prince Mohammed for his patronage and emphasized the summit's role in furthering the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

Al-Ghamdi highlighted the Kingdom's leadership in AI innovation and SDAIA's commitment to its role to propel the nation's economic growth through data and AI.

He underlined the summit's aim to push the AI boundaries for the benefit of humanity while acknowledging the ethical challenges posed by the rise of generative AI, including forgery, and the need to address information generated using AI.

He highlighted the global competition for AI talent and the need to overcome the challenges inherent in attracting talent, particularly from the global North, in order to ensure balanced digital, economic, and social development.

Al-Ghamdi presented the authority's achievements in the field of data and AI since its establishment in 2019, including holding the first edition of the Global AI Summit, where discussions led to the establishment of a UN-affiliated advisory body for AI.

He underlined the authority's role in fostering global collaboration in AI governance through hosting a major consultation for the UN, in which over 50 countries participated.

Moreover, he lauded UNESCO's efforts in promoting AI ethics, including the establishment of the International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics (ICAIRE), in Riyadh, which is recognized by the organization as an international center.

He further outlined key SDAIA initiatives, including the ALLaM model, a pioneering Arabic language model developed in Saudi Arabia, and the "SauTech" innovation, a highly accurate Arabic speech-to-text tool covering 15 Arabic dialects. The technology is being utilized by the Ministry of Justice to transcribe court sessions, placing it at the forefront of AI-driven judicial system.

Al-Ghamdi emphasized SDAIA's ongoing work with government agencies to leverage AI in the healthcare sector, highlighting the "EYENAI" solution, which has contributed to the early diagnosis of 846 potential patients in the past year.

He stressed SDAIA's commitment to addressing the challenges facing local and global AI talents. To attain this goal, he said, the authority organized the largest national programming and AI Olympiad, in which more than 570,000 Saudi students participated, asserting that the Kingdom is hosting the first International AI Olympiad, with 25 countries competing in Riyadh.

He stressed that SDAIA continues to build national capabilities and aims to achieve gender equality in the AI workforce.

SDAIA, he said, has also made strides on a global scale with its effort to promote gender equality worldwide, particularly through the Elevate Initiative, which was launched during the second edition of the Global AI Summit, and through which the skills of women from 28 countries have been honed.

Al-Ghamdi stressed that AI is not a tool that replaces human capabilities, but a powerful enabler in expanding them, and "this journey is not just about technical achievements, but a race for a more brilliant industrial intelligence. It is about forging a partnership between humans and machines to solve pressing challenges so that AI can work for humanity".

He called for a human-centered AI, where technology promotes creativity and human compassion instead of replacing them, urging participants to join the summit discussions to bridge gaps, improve the quality of life, and create a future in which technology and humanity are in harmony.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha presented the investment theory in AI in the first session of summit, titled "Empowering Society through AI Driven Technology". He noted that the Kingdom's challenge lies in starting from a high level of ambition to achieve productivity and prosperity through local, regional, and global innovations.

He said: "We can take cloud computing as an example, as innovation began in 2006 and continued until 2013. The sector faced many challenges at the physical and technical levels as well. Still, it succeeded in moving from an industry worth $10 billion to a broad market worth more than half a trillion dollars".

He touched on three main challenges in AI: devices and energy efficiency, where, he said, AI techniques lack energy efficiency; storage and memory, with many global developers exerting efforts to accelerate the development of memory devices; and models, where there might be confusion regarding accurate and false information, or some biases may occur.

The opening ceremony included visual presentations of the scope of AI, its relationship with humans, and the development of related technologies.

At the summit, SDAIA, in partnership with UNESCO, announced that the International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) classifies as a Category 2 Center (C2C) under UNESCO auspices.

ICAIRE's classification underscores the significant role Saudi Arabia plays in fostering international and regional partnerships in AI policies, ethics, and research, in addition to its global initiatives supporting the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The classification is an acknowledgement of the Kingdom's dedication to advancing UNESCO's mission to utilize AI for the betterment of humanity, with emphasis on assisting developing nations, and the attainment of the UN SDGs.

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Business

IMF Acknowledges Economic Turnaround in Pakistan

A man cuts meat at a local restaurant in Karachi (EPA)
A man cuts meat at a local restaurant in Karachi (EPA)
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IMF Acknowledges Economic Turnaround in Pakistan

A man cuts meat at a local restaurant in Karachi (EPA)
A man cuts meat at a local restaurant in Karachi (EPA)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has acknowledged a marked improvement in Pakistan's economic outlook, stating that policy efforts under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) have helped stabilize the economy, contain inflation and rebuild confidence, as the country prepares for a fresh round of review talks later this month.

Speaking at a press briefing in Washington, IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack said an IMF staff team will visit Pakistan from February 25 for discussions on the Third Review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Second Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

According to Pakistani newspaper, The Express Tribute, Kozack described Pakistan's fiscal performance in the 2025 financial year as “strong,” noting that the country has achieved a primary fiscal surplus of 1.3% of GDP, a figure that aligns with agreed program targets.

Last December, the IMF approved the release of $1.2 billion to Pakistan, giving the cash-strapped country a fresh boost as it works to recover from one of its worst economic crises in years.

The IMF will provide Pakistan $1 billion under its Extended Fund Facility and $200 million under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

Pakistan's central bank governor Jameel Ahmad told Reuters this week the recovery is broader and more durable than headline export data suggest.

The chief said he expects the economy to grow as much as 4.75% this fiscal year, pushing back against a recent downgrade by the IMF.

He said differences in projections were not unusual and reflected timing issues, including the IMF's incorporation of flood-related assessments in its latest outlook.

“All these sources and indicators, along with FY26-Q1 data, point to a broad-based recovery in all three sectors of the economy,” Ahmad said.

He added that the central bank believed that agricultural activity had remained resilient despite floods and “it is even performing better than its targets.”

Ahmad said financial conditions had eased significantly following a cumulative 1,150 basis point cut in the policy rate since June 2024, and that the full impact was still feeding through. This, he said, was supporting growth while preserving price and economic stability.

The central bank last month held its benchmark rate at 10.5%, defying expectations for a cut.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised its FY26 growth forecast to 3.75–4.75% at its January meeting, 0.5 percentage point higher than its previous range, despite a contraction in exports in the first half of the year and a widening trade deficit.

The governor said differences in projections were not unusual and reflected timing issues, including the IMF's incorporation of flood-related assessments in its latest outlook.

While exports declined in the first half of the fiscal year, Ahmad said the fall reflected low global prices and border disruptions rather than softer activity.
The divergence with the IMF comes at a delicate moment for Pakistan, which is emerging from a balance-of-payments crisis under a $7 billion IMF program.

Pakistan's previous growth spurts have often led to currency pressure and a decline in foreign exchange reserves, making the sustainability of the current rebound a key question for investors.

Ahmad said high-frequency indicators and 6% growth in large-scale manufacturing in July–November point to strengthening demand, while agriculture has remained resilient despite last year's floods.

“Additionally, if the government decided to tap global capital markets for any debt issuance, then that would be on the upside of our current assessment,” he said.

Pakistan plans to issue panda bonds, a yuan-denominated debt sold in China's domestic market around the upcoming Lunar New Year, as part of efforts to diversify external financing and broaden its investor base.

Ahmad said the central bank has been consistently purchasing dollars in the interbank market to strengthen foreign exchange buffers, with data published regularly.

He said that while economic stability has improved, structural reforms remain key to sustaining stronger growth and improving productivity.

Business

India, Brazil Sign Agreement to Boost Cooperation on Rare Earths, Cut Dependence on China

Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 21, 2026 (EPA)
Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 21, 2026 (EPA)
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India, Brazil Sign Agreement to Boost Cooperation on Rare Earths, Cut Dependence on China

Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 21, 2026 (EPA)
Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 21, 2026 (EPA)

India and Brazil sealed a deal Saturday on critical minerals and rare earths following a meeting in New Delhi between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

“The agreement on critical minerals and rare earths is a major step towards building resilient supply chains,” Modi said.

“Increasing investments and cooperation in matters of renewable energies and critical minerals is at the core of the pioneering agreement that we have signed today,” said Lula, who arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for a summit on artificial intelligence, accompanied by a delegation of more than a dozen ministers as well as business leaders.

The details of the deal were not immediately available but a senior Indian foreign ministry official said official discussions were underway.

Brazil has the world's second-largest reserves of critical minerals, which are used in everything from electric vehicles, solar panels and smartphones to jet engines and guided missiles.

India, seeking to cut its dependence on top exporter China, has been expanding domestic production and recycling while scouting for new suppliers.

Main Trade Partner

“Brazil is India's largest trade partner in Latin America. We are committed to taking our bilateral trade beyond $20 billion in the coming five years,” Modi said. “Our trade is not just a figure, but a reflection of trust.”

Nine other agreements and memoranda of understanding were finalized on Saturday, covering digital cooperation, health, entrepreneurship and other fields.

Rishabh Jain, an expert with the Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water think tank, said India's growing cooperation with Brazil on critical minerals complements recent supply chain engagements with the United States, France and the European Union.

While these partnerships grant India access to advanced technologies, finance and high-end processing capabilities, “Global South alliances are critical for securing diversified, on-ground resource access and shaping emerging rules of global trade,” Jain told AFP.

India, the world's most populous nation, is the 10th largest market for Brazilian exports, with bilateral trade topping $15 billion in 2025.

Key Brazilian exports to India include sugar, crude oil, vegetable oils, cotton and iron ore.

Demand for iron ore has been driven by rapid infrastructure expansion and industrial growth in India, which is on track to become the world's fourth largest economy.

Business

Trump Says He Will Raise US Global Tariff Rate from 10% to 15%

US President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, following the Supreme Court's ruling that Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed tariffs, in Washington, DC, US, February 20, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, following the Supreme Court's ruling that Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed tariffs, in Washington, DC, US, February 20, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Says He Will Raise US Global Tariff Rate from 10% to 15%

US President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, following the Supreme Court's ruling that Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed tariffs, in Washington, DC, US, February 20, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, following the Supreme Court's ruling that Trump had exceeded his authority when he imposed tariffs, in Washington, DC, US, February 20, 2026. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will raise temporary tariffs on almost all US imports from 10% to 15%, the maximum level allowed under the law, after the US Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff program as invalid.

Trump had immediately announced a 10% across-the-board tariff on Friday after the court's decision, which ‌found the president ‌had exceeded his authority when ‌he ⁠imposed an array ⁠of higher rates under an economic emergency law.

The new levies are grounded in a separate law, known as Section 122, that allows tariffs up to 15% but requires congressional approval to extend them after 150 days.

In a ⁠social media post on Saturday, ‌Trump said he ‌would use that period to work on issuing other "legally ‌permissible" tariffs. The administration intends to rely ‌on two other statutes that permit import taxes on specific products or countries based on investigations into national security or unfair trade practices.

"I, as President of ‌the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% ⁠Worldwide ⁠Tariff on Countries, many of which have been 'ripping' the US off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level," he wrote in a Truth Social post.

Trump has shown little sign of backing off his global trade war in the hours since the court's 6-3 decision, attacking individual justices in personal terms and insisting he retained the power to impose tariffs as he sees fit.