Saudi Digital Authority to Augment Investment in Govt Technology

Saudi Arabia establishes the Digital Government Authority (DGA)… Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha in the upper left portrait | Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia establishes the Digital Government Authority (DGA)… Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha in the upper left portrait | Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Digital Authority to Augment Investment in Govt Technology

Saudi Arabia establishes the Digital Government Authority (DGA)… Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha in the upper left portrait | Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia establishes the Digital Government Authority (DGA)… Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha in the upper left portrait | Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Cabinet approval on Tuesday for the establishment of the Digital Government Authority (DGA) is expected to raise the kingdom’s place in the UN e-government ranking by adopting digital transformation in government services on a par with international standards.

Abdullah al-Swaha, the Saudi minister of communications and information technology and chairman of the National Digital Transformation Unit, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the historic move will provide integrated and seamless digital proactive services.

The DGA, according to al-Swaha, will help in achieving key objectives, most important of which is augmenting returns on government digital assets and investments. It will also work on developing the digital capabilities and talents of public sector employees.

The minister added that the authority opens up new horizons in digital government services through proactive and integrated digital services, especially that the world became more reliant on digital transformation as a pillar for success in 2020.

Mansur al-Obaid, head of the information and communications committee at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the DGA will be able to unite efforts under rich initiatives for digital transformation.

Today, Saudi Arabia has over 1,500 government websites that offer a range of 4,000 e-services, al-Obaid noted.

DGA will help prepare a national e-government strategy and organize the work of digital government, including platforms, websites, services, and e-government networks.

This comes in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to improve the Kingdom’s ranking to be among the top five countries in e-governance by 2030.

According to al-Obaid, the DGA will improve the experience of clients and users, increase efficiency rates, and attract investments at a higher rate.

Al-Obaid added that the authority will enhance mechanisms adopted by government agencies and help achieve sustainability by stimulating creativity and promoting innovative work models.

The scope of DGA’s work will encompass vital sectors like education, health, and transportation.



European Trade Ministers Meet to Forge Strategy after Surprise 30% Tariffs from Trump

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament, in Strasbourg on July 9, 2025. (Photo by Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament, in Strasbourg on July 9, 2025. (Photo by Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP)
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European Trade Ministers Meet to Forge Strategy after Surprise 30% Tariffs from Trump

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament, in Strasbourg on July 9, 2025. (Photo by Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament, in Strasbourg on July 9, 2025. (Photo by Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP)

European trade ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday, following US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of 30% tariffs on the European Union.

The EU is America’s biggest business partner and the world’s largest trading bloc. The US decision will have repercussions for governments, companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic, the Associated Press said.

“We shouldn’t impose countermeasures at this stage, but we should prepare to be ready to use all the tools in the toolbox,” said Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, told reporters ahead of the meeting. “So we want a deal, but there’s an old saying: ’If you want peace, you have to prepare for war.'”

The tariffs, also imposed on Mexico, are set to start on Aug. 1 and could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the US, and destabilize economies from Portugal to Norway.

Meanwhile, Brussels decided to suspend retaliatory tariffs on US goods scheduled to take effect Monday in hopes of reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration by the end of the month.

The “countermeasures” by the EU, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of its 27 member countries, will be delayed until Aug. 1.

Trump’s letter shows “that we have until the first of August” to negotiate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels on Sunday.

The letters to the EU and Mexico come in the midst of an on-and-off Trump threat to impose tariffs on countries and right an imbalance in trade.

Trump in April imposed tariffs on dozens of countries, before pausing them for 90 days to negotiate individual deals. As the three-month grace period ended this week, he began sending tariff letters to leaders but again has pushed back the implementation day for what he says will be just a few more weeks.

If he moves forward with the tariffs, it could have ramifications for nearly every aspect of the global economy.

In the wake of the new tariffs, European leaders largely closed ranks, calling for unity but also a steady hand to not provoke further acrimony.

Just last week, Europe was cautiously optimistic.

Officials told reporters on Friday they weren't expecting a letter like the one sent Saturday and that a trade deal was to be inked in “the coming days." For months, the EU has broadcast that it has strong retaliatory measures ready if talks fail.

Reeling from successive rebukes from Washington, the EU is now diversifying its economic, political and defense networks, mostly in Asia.

The EU top brass will visit Beijing for a summit later this month while courting other Pacific nations like South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia, whose prime minister visited Brussels over the weekend to sign a new economic partnership with the EU. It also has mega-deals in the works with Mexico and a trading bloc of South American nations known as Mercosur.

While meeting with Indonesia's prime minister on Sunday, Von der Leyen said that “when economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility, partners like us must come closer together.”