Riyadh to Host First Int'l Conference on AI, Cloud Computing in May

Digital transformation has contributed to improving work in the Saudi oil and petrochemical sector. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Digital transformation has contributed to improving work in the Saudi oil and petrochemical sector. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Riyadh to Host First Int'l Conference on AI, Cloud Computing in May

Digital transformation has contributed to improving work in the Saudi oil and petrochemical sector. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Digital transformation has contributed to improving work in the Saudi oil and petrochemical sector. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Riyadh will host the first international conference on artificial intelligence and cloud computing on May 22. The three-day conference will be held with the participation of the heads of IT departments in local and international government and private companies.

Kholoud Al-Otaibi, director of the exhibition, said the gathering would feature a comprehensive set of ideas, innovations and developments that keep pace with the ongoing technological revolution, in addition to seminars by speakers from around the world.

Al-Otaibi pointed that technical recovery was underway as a result of change in the use of artificial intelligence, which she said would revolutionize all aspects of life, work, mobility, medicine, economy and communications.

She noted that recent studies by Accenture-US have shown that artificial intelligence and solutions based on it would pump $215 billion into the Saudi economy by 2035, representing an increase of 12.5 percent of the value of the GDP.

The Kingdom holds the largest share in the digital industries market in the region, as a result of its continuous adoption of digital transformation plans to serve its Vision 2030.

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) will participate in the conference, alongside the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat) to highlight the role of technical small and medium companies and provide an opportunity for a number of startups and interested entrepreneurs to participate in this forum.

The Kingdom has sought to digitize many vital sectors, including transportation and communications, which both witnessed over the past years a qualitative leap in technological transformation. Saudi Arabia’s plans seek to provide technical solutions to improve performance, reduce costs, and make the transportation sector smarter and more efficient.

Digital transformation has also contributed to improving work in the Saudi oil and petrochemical sector. Saudi Aramco stands out through a factory that employs a group of data scientists and machine learning experts, who seek to benefit from vast data based on artificial intelligence and deliver environmental and safety solutions across the energy value chain.



Syria Completes First Global SWIFT Transfer since War

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Syrian central bank, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yosri Al Jamal/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Syrian central bank, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yosri Al Jamal/File Photo
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Syria Completes First Global SWIFT Transfer since War

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Syrian central bank, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yosri Al Jamal/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Syrian central bank, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 16, 2024. REUTERS/Yosri Al Jamal/File Photo

Syria has carried out its first international bank transaction via the SWIFT system since the outbreak of its 14-year civil war, its central bank governor said on Thursday, a milestone in Syria's push to reintegrate into the global financial system.

Central bank governor Abdelkader Husriyeh told Reuters in Damascus that a direct commercial transaction had been carried out from a Syrian to an Italian bank on Sunday, and that transactions with US banks could begin within weeks.

"The door is now open to more such transactions," he said.

Syrian banks were largely cut off from the world during the civil war after a crackdown by Bashar al-Assad on anti-government protests in 2011 led Western states to impose sanctions, including on Syria's central bank. Assad was ousted as president in a lightning offensive by opposition factions last year and Syria has since taken steps to re-establish international ties, culminating in a May meeting between interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and US President Donald Trump in Riyadh. The US then significantly eased its sanctions and some in Congress are pushing for them to be totally repealed. Europe has announced the end of its economic sanctions regime.

Syria needs to make transfers with Western financial institutions in order to bring in huge sums for reconstruction and to kickstart a war-ravaged economy that has left nine out of 10 people poor, according to the United Nations.

Husriyeh chaired a high-level virtual meeting on Wednesday bringing together Syrian banks, several US banks and US officials, including Washington's Syria envoy Thomas Barrack.

The aim of the meeting was to accelerate the reconnection of Syria's banking system to the global financial system and Husriyeh extended a formal invitation to US banks to re-establish correspondent banking ties.

"We have two clear targets: have US banks set up representative offices in Syria and have transactions resume between Syrian and American banks. I think the latter can happen in a matter of weeks," Husriyeh told Reuters.

Among the banks invited to Wednesday's conference were JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Citibank, though it was not immediately clear who attended.