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Saudi Arabia Launches 4th Industrial Revolution Center in Partnership with WEF

Saudi Arabia inaugurated the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Saudi Arabia inaugurated the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
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Saudi Arabia Launches 4th Industrial Revolution Center in Partnership with WEF

Saudi Arabia inaugurated the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Saudi Arabia inaugurated the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Saudi Arabia inaugurated on Wednesday the 4th Industrial Revolution Center in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Chairman of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) Abdullah al-Sawahah announced the new center on the sidelines of the first Saudi Forum for the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The inaugural session was attended by WEF founder and Executive Chairman Professor Klaus Schwab, several ministers and senior officials and prominent Saudi and international speakers.

The forum is an extension of the support for development and innovation in Saudi Arabia by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

Al-Sawahah said the forum offers an opportunity to combine talent and technology to present organizations that stimulate innovation.

He highlighted the importance of meeting thinkers and actors, such as representatives of governments, non-governmental institutions, and business leaders, in supporting this initiative.

Schwab congratulated the Kingdom for inaugurating the 4th Industrial Revolution Center that aims to harness new technologies with the best principles of flexible governance, which need government, business and civil society to make technology a force for good and ensure that the society benefits from it.

KACST President Dr. Munir bin Mahmoud El-Desouki said: “Our country needs cooperation and coordination of efforts in the public, private and non-profit sectors and open channels of dialogue to raise awareness about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and identify potential risks.”

“The Kingdom has a solid economic base to build on, through recent reforms to the governance model and the creation of new entities, such as the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, the Cybersecurity Authority, the Digital Government Authority, and the Research, Development, and Innovation Development Authority,” he added.

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China Unveils ‘Special Action Plan’ to Boost Domestic Consumption

Local Chinese tourists walk along the the Turret of the Forbidden City of Beijing, China, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Local Chinese tourists walk along the the Turret of the Forbidden City of Beijing, China, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
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China Unveils ‘Special Action Plan’ to Boost Domestic Consumption

Local Chinese tourists walk along the the Turret of the Forbidden City of Beijing, China, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Local Chinese tourists walk along the the Turret of the Forbidden City of Beijing, China, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

China's State Council unveiled on Sunday what it called a “special action plan” to boost domestic consumption, featuring measures including increasing residents' income and establishing a childcare subsidy scheme.

The plan comes as levels of consumer demand in China have suffered various setbacks in recent years, due to factors such as COVID-19 disruptions and a prolonged property slump, chilling the propensity of households to spend and adding to deflationary trends.

The plan was issued to all regions and departments to “vigorously boost consumption, expand domestic demand in all directions, improve consumption capacity by increasing income and reducing burdens,” a report from the Council said.

The plan comes a week after Chinese Premier Li Qiang's work report to the National People's Congress which focused on boosting household spending to cushion the impact of weak external demand.

Pressure has been building on Chinese officials for consumer-focused stimulus measures to fend off deflationary pressures and reduce the world's second-largest economy's reliance on exports and investment for growth.

The plan released on Sunday called for increasing urban and rural incomes and said farmers' incomes should be boosted by measures such as housing reforms.

The action plan was wide-ranging but was limited in promising concrete resources to support local governments as they formulate actual measures to implement the plan.

The plan also envisaged measures to stabilize the stock market but gave no details on when and how this could happen.

Authorities should “study and establish a childcare subsidy system,” as well as implement flexible employment and the opening of pediatric outpatient clinics at night in general hospitals. Community and employer-run childcare services are also to be encouraged.

Workers' rights and vacation days must be guaranteed and paid annual leave and short holidays should be encouraged. Financial subsidy standards for urban and rural residents' basic pensions are also to be increased.

There were also proposals to boost tourism such as expanding the number of countries whose travelers don't need visas.

Caption: Customers shop at the Wankelai store in Beijing, China February 27, 2025. Reuters/Tingshu Wang/File Photo