Saudi Arabia Outlines Strategy to Become Global Leader in AI by 2030

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (SPA)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (SPA)
TT

Saudi Arabia Outlines Strategy to Become Global Leader in AI by 2030

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (SPA)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia unveiled on Wednesday its new National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence (NSDAI) which will make the Kingdom a global leader in AI by 2030.

The National Strategy, which will be led by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), was officially launched at the inaugural Global AI Summit in Riyadh. The two-day summit was launched under the auspices of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

The “AI for the Good of Humanity” is organized by the SDAIA and G20 Saudi Secretariat as part of the International Conferences Program, honoring the G20 Saudi presidency year 2020.

SDAIA President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed, commending their keenness on supporting this pivotal sector.

Alghamdi said the National Strategy encompass six main areas that have been identified as essential to develop Saudi Arabia's national capacity in AI:

- Ambition: Saudi Arabia's plans are focused on turning the country into a global leader in data and AI.

- Skills: The NSDAI seeks to transform the current and future Saudi workforce, through education, and upskilling and reskilling that will enable Saudis to utilize the power of data and AI, in public and private sectors.

- Policy and Regulations: Saudi Arabia will create a world-class regulatory framework that will encourage and foster data-driven businesses.

- Investment: The NSDAI will aim to attract and incentivize local and foreign investors and companies to encourage investment in qualified opportunities within Saudi Arabia.

- Research and Innovation: Under the National Strategy, Saudi Arabia will build and enable core research and innovation institutions in data and AI, to enable the Kingdom to lead in the development and commercialization of new technologies.

- Ecosystem: The National Strategy will aim to stimulate data and AI adoption through the creation of a collaborative and forward-thinking ecosystem.

The Global AI Summit is the world's premier platform for dialogue that brings together over 200 stakeholders from public sector, academia and private sector, including technology companies, investors, entrepreneurs and startups to shape the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The Global AI Summit will be a unique global opportunity to explore what the new global era means to AI, how AI's transformational potential can be best used to create a better future for all, and what this means for policy and decision makers interested in leveraging the potential, for the good of humanity.

Proceedings of the summit will be streamed through its platforms on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.



KSrelief Signs Agreements to Strengthen Education and Healthcare Sectors in Yemen

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday a cooperation agreement to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz Governorate (SPA)
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday a cooperation agreement to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz Governorate (SPA)
TT

KSrelief Signs Agreements to Strengthen Education and Healthcare Sectors in Yemen

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday a cooperation agreement to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz Governorate (SPA)
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday a cooperation agreement to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz Governorate (SPA)

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday various agreements to promote the educational and medical sectors in several Yemeni governorates, benefiting over 13,000 individuals.
At the educational level, the Center signed a cooperation agreement with a civil society organization to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz governorate, Thamud district in Hadramaut governorate, as well as in the governorates of Shabwah, Abyan, and Lahj, Yemen, benefiting some 6,000 individuals.
Assistant Supervisor General of Operations and Programs at KSrelief Engineer Ahmed Al Baiz signed the agreement on the sidelines of the International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh.
The agreement entails providing 60 fully equipped classrooms and outfitting 10 schools to create a suitable learning environment for students, and distributing 6,000 school uniforms and bags containing school supplies.
Furthermore, job opportunities will be created for low-income families (beneficiaries of previous training and empowerment projects) by having them make school bags and uniforms.
This initiative is part of the relief and humanitarian endeavors carried out by the Kingdom through KSrelief to bolster the safety and continuity of the educational process, and tackle student dropout rates in the specified regions in Yemen.

At the medical level, KSrelief and the International Wars and Disasters Victims' Protection Association (IRVD) signed a cooperation agreement to establish a prosthetic and rehabilitation center in Yemen’s Marib governorate.
This collaboration will offer physical rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities, focusing on their integration into society.
It will involve personalized treatment plans, provision of various prosthetic limbs, occupational rehabilitation services, continuous follow-up care, and the enhancement of medical and technical staff skills to handle specialized cases.
The project aims to curb the emigration of specialized personnel and is expected to benefit 7,174 individuals.
Separately, the World Health Organization (WHO) signed a €3.4 million agreement with the German government to sustain lifesaving health and nutrition services in Yemen.
According to a WHO statement, the initiative comes at a critical time: Yemen is grappling with a protracted, grade 3 emergency – the highest level of WHO health emergency response.
It said Yemen faces multiple and parallel outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, including circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), acute watery diarrhea and cholera, measles, diphtheria, malaria and dengue fever.
According to WHO, Yemen reported 204 000 suspected cases and 710 deaths between the outbreak of cholera in March 2024 and the end of September 2024.
Since the beginning of the year, 33,000 suspected measles cases have been reported, with 280 associated deaths.
By the end of 2024, it is projected that over 223,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and more than 600,000 children will be malnourished.
Among these children, nearly 120,000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), a 34% increase on the previous year.