Saudi Arabia Partners with World Bank to Ensure No Nation Left Behind on AI

Saudi Arabia and the World Bank announce a long-term partnership to accelerate the use of AI in developing nations. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia and the World Bank announce a long-term partnership to accelerate the use of AI in developing nations. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Partners with World Bank to Ensure No Nation Left Behind on AI

Saudi Arabia and the World Bank announce a long-term partnership to accelerate the use of AI in developing nations. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia and the World Bank announce a long-term partnership to accelerate the use of AI in developing nations. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia and the World Bank announced on Wednesday a long-term partnership to accelerate the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in developing nations in support of economic and development goals.

Director of the National Information Center (NIC) Esam bin Abdullah Alwagait said: "Through this partnership with the World Bank, Saudi Arabia aims to help all countries of the world to unlock the value of Artificial Intelligence and to share the benefits of data-driven decision-making to support economic and social growth.

“Data and AI are at the heart of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, and through the development of our own AI agenda and policies, we have developed skills and resources that we want to share to ensure that all nations are equally prepared to harness the value of AI.”

World Bank Vice President of Infrastructure Makhtar Diop stated: "This initiative aims to help governments harness AI technologies while adopting the appropriate safeguards for ensuring privacy and protection as well as inclusivity and unbiased algorithms."

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.



Turkish Central Bank 2024 Loss Around $18 billion

A logo of Türkiye's Central Bank is pictured at the entrance to its headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan/File Photo
A logo of Türkiye's Central Bank is pictured at the entrance to its headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan/File Photo
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Turkish Central Bank 2024 Loss Around $18 billion

A logo of Türkiye's Central Bank is pictured at the entrance to its headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan/File Photo
A logo of Türkiye's Central Bank is pictured at the entrance to its headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Cagla Gurdogan/File Photo

Türkiye 's central bank posted a loss of 700.4 billion lira ($18.4 billion) in 2024, according to its balance sheet published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday.

In 2023, the bank had posted a loss of 818.2 billion lira (or $25 billion at that time).

The loss, stemming from a foreign exchange-protected deposit scheme, prompted the central bank to pass on distributing profit to the Treasury in 2023 and now in 2024, Reuters reported.

The central bank will convene its general assembly on April 30 in Ankara to discuss the 2024 results.

Meanwhile, the Turkish budget showed a deficit of 261.5 billion lira ($6.87 billion) in March, while there was a primary deficit of 100.2 billion lira, the Treasury and Finance Ministry said on Tuesday.