Saudi Arabia Leads Middle East Countries in Digital Services

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia /AFP
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia /AFP
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Saudi Arabia Leads Middle East Countries in Digital Services

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia /AFP
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia /AFP

Saudi Arabia ranked first in the field of digital services availability and development, according to the Government Electronic and Mobile Services (GEMS) Maturity Index, which is issued by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) annually since 2019.

A statement by ESCWA said that GEMS measures performance in 84 government services that are essential to individuals in the various phases of their lives, and to businesses from their establishment through their operations to their closure. The Index is computed based on three pillars: availability and development of services; use of services and user satisfaction; and government efforts to publicize services.

In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ahmed Al-Suwaiyan, Governor of the Saudi Digital Government Authority, pointed to the importance of unlimited support by the government and joint work among public agencies to provide distinguished digital services to citizens and enhance the competitiveness of the business sector.

He added that the great support provided by the Saudi government to the digital system had the greatest impact on the Kingdom’s superiority in the most important global indicators.

This success comes as a culmination of integration and joint work between government agencies to achieve government digital transformation as one of the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, Al-Suwaiyan underlined.

Eng. Muhammad Muzaffar, a member of the National Commercial Committee in the Federation of Saudi Chambers, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia is keen to develop digital services, adding that the new achievement would further attract foreign investments.

Saudi Arabia has been ranked second globally among the G20 countries in the Digital Riser Report for the year 2021 issued by the European Center for Digital Competitiveness.

The Kingdom also topped the first group of the highest leading and innovative countries in the areas of providing government services and interacting with citizens according to the government technology report (GovTech) issued by the World Bank.



Saudi, British Companies Seek to Explore Sustainable Partnerships

Participants in the Great Futures Initiative conference which was recently held in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Participants in the Great Futures Initiative conference which was recently held in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi, British Companies Seek to Explore Sustainable Partnerships

Participants in the Great Futures Initiative conference which was recently held in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Participants in the Great Futures Initiative conference which was recently held in Riyadh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Several major national companies are participating in the UK-Saudi Sustainable Infrastructure Summit in London on June 24-26.

According to information made available to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Federation of Saudi Chambers is seeking to mobilize the largest possible number of companies specialized in sustainable infrastructure to explore partnerships with the United Kingdom in green construction, smart cities, and technologies.

The summit will address topics that touch on the importance of Saudi-British cooperation in developing and financing sustainable infrastructure and development of cities, in addition to green technology and renewable energy initiatives.

Trade Exchange

The event will be followed by a meeting of the sectoral working groups on June 25 and an evening celebration of the tenth anniversary of the British-Saudi Business Council. The Sports Investment Forum will be held on June 26.

The value of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Britain exceeded 17 billion pounds ($21 billion), while the two countries aim to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $37.5 billion by 2030.

In May, Riyadh hosted the Great Futures conference, one of the initiatives of the Saudi-British Strategic Partnership Council, which is chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The conference sought to strengthen economic relations in several promising sectors, in addition to developing trade and mutual investment.

The two kingdoms explored opportunities through 60 initiatives in 13 sectors that enhance economic, trade and investment partnerships in all fields.

Speaking at the event in May, Saudi Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi said that the United Kingdom is the second largest exporter of services in the world, and that his country has promising opportunities and a will to diversify the economy.

He added that joint cooperation between the two countries covers various fields, with a focus on the commercial, financial, digital, cultural, educational and health sectors, as well as sports, tourism and entertainment.