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Expanding Investment in AI Technologies Crucial to Meeting Future Needs

Part of the opening ceremony of the International Exhibition and Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Part of the opening ceremony of the International Exhibition and Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Expanding Investment in AI Technologies Crucial to Meeting Future Needs

Part of the opening ceremony of the International Exhibition and Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Part of the opening ceremony of the International Exhibition and Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Exceptional times experienced by the world, considering the lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath, require a broader investment in technology, said Wafi bin Hammad Albalawi, vice president of the Saudi Electronic University.

He said that maximizing investment in tech will help the world benefit from its practical value, reduce costs, and meet global needs at a time when the use of artificial intelligence and technology alternatives is increasing in vital sectors at an accelerating pace.

The International Exhibition and Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing, held in Riyadh, had called for the importance of expanding investments in artificial intelligence technologies to meet the future needs.

Albalawi stated that investing in advanced digital solutions is an urgent necessity to replace traditional systems in the fields of work, mobility, medicine, economy, and communications.

“There is a burst of knowledge and a digital transformation that Saudi Arabia is witnessing at all levels,” Albalawi told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that the burst most notably occurred in the Kingdom’s industrial, educational, and logistical sectors.

For the future, the Kingdom plans creating a digital economy through which it leads the Middle East region as a force aspiring to increase digitization rates and investment in technology.

Albalawi pointed to a recent study conducted by the US-based company Accenture, which said that investment in artificial intelligence will increase the Saudi gross domestic product by 12.5 % and will inject more than $215 billion into the Saudi economy by 2035.

Saudi Arabia is hosting the International Exhibition and Conference for Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing from May 22 to 24. The event features leaders and pioneers in the technology sectors, both in local, global government and private institutions.

This conference is one of the most specialized and widely spread events globally and seeks to foster innovation and increase competitiveness.

It offers a platform for collaboration between AI leaders and investors to create a better future. The conference offers discussion panels and workshops that will address relevant topics such as artificial intelligence, data science, internet, cybersecurity, big data, and more.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia seeks to digitize many vital sectors and adopt technological transformation through steps based on digital solutions, to improve performance, reduce costs and raise efficiency, as well as creating an attractive environment for investors and entrepreneurs.

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Business

Hormuz Disruptions Drive Saudi Re-Exports to Historic High

King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia (SPA)
King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia (SPA)
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Hormuz Disruptions Drive Saudi Re-Exports to Historic High

King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia (SPA)
King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia (SPA)

Preliminary data released by the General Authority for Statistics on Thursday revealed a remarkable positive shift in Saudi Arabia's international merchandise trade during April 2026.

The merchandise trade surplus doubled by 100.8 percent compared to the same month last year, reaching 25.4 billion riyals (approximately $6.77 billion), driven by an increase in total merchandise exports and a decrease in spending on imports.

According to the official bulletin, total merchandise exports grew by 9.3 percent to reach 101 billion riyals (approximately $26.93 billion), compared to 93 billion riyals in April 2025.

This growth was primarily driven by an 11.7 percent rise in oil exports, reaching a value of 69.6 billion riyals (approximately $18.56 billion), compared to about 62.7 billion riyals (approximately $16.72 billion) in the previous year, alongside a 4.5 percent growth in non-oil exports (including re-exports), reaching 31.4 billion riyals (approximately $8.37 billion). Among these, the "re-exports" item alone saw a historic jump of 20.4 percent, reaching 15.5 billion riyals (approximately $4.13 billion).

Conversely, a 5.2 percent decline in total merchandise imports, decreasing from 80 billion riyals (approximately $21.33 billion) to 76 billion riyals (approximately $20.26 billion), contributed to the Kingdom's trade balance gains; the merchandise trade surplus doubled by 100.8 percent, rising from approximately 13 billion riyals (approximately $3.47 billion) in April 2025 to expand to 25.4 billion riyals (approximately $6.77 billion) in April 2026.

Logistical Resilience

The re-export movement in the Kingdom recorded unprecedented historic performance; the value of re-exported goods jumped by 20.4 percent to reach a record level of 15.5 billion riyals (approximately $4.13 billion), which is the highest monthly level recorded by statistical data since 2017.

This strong performance was bolstered by a 74.0 percent increase in exports from the "machinery, electrical appliances, and equipment and their parts" sector, which alone accounted for 53.5 percent of total re-exported goods.

This intensive logistical activity occurred as the Kingdom benefited from diverting part of the regional shipping traffic to avoid navigation disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which accompanied the Iranian war.

Saudi Arabia enhanced the role of its ports as alternative routes by diverting shipping to Red Sea ports (Jeddah and Yanbu), while raising the readiness of eastern and western ports and activating the "East-West" pipeline to ensure the continuous flow of oil and goods. These efforts culminated in a rise in the ratio of non-oil exports (including re-exports) to imports, reaching 41.6 percent compared to 37.8 percent in April 2025.

Goods Structure and Trade Partners

Regarding non-oil trade details, "machinery, electrical appliances, and equipment" topped the list of non-oil exports with a share of 28.1 percent, followed by "plastics, rubber, and their products" at 17.1 percent. As for imports, the same group (machinery and electrical equipment) led the imported goods with a share of 33.3 percent, followed by transport equipment and parts at 10.2 percent.

In terms of international partners, China maintained its position as the Kingdom's main trading partner, accounting for 15.2 percent of total Saudi merchandise exports, followed by the UAE at 10.6 percent, and then South Korea at 9.7 percent. China also ranked first in the Kingdom's import list with 29.4 percent, followed by the UAE at 7.9 percent, and the United States of America third at 7.2 percent.

Jeddah Islamic Port played a pivotal role during this period, topping customs ports as the most important gateway through which 33.7 percent of imported goods passed, and also ranking first as the most important port for the Kingdom's non-oil exports with 23.3 percent.

Business

SIRC: Waste Management to Add $32 Billion to Saudi Economy by 2040

SIRC headquarters in Saudi Arabia (company website)
SIRC headquarters in Saudi Arabia (company website)
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SIRC: Waste Management to Add $32 Billion to Saudi Economy by 2040

SIRC headquarters in Saudi Arabia (company website)
SIRC headquarters in Saudi Arabia (company website)

Saudi Arabia’s waste-management sector is set to evolve from a routine environmental service into an independent industrial and economic engine, potentially adding more than SAR120 billion ($32 billion) to the Kingdom’s GDP by 2040, according to Alwaleed Alzahrani, Business Development Manager at the Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC).

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of Riyadh International Industry Week 2026, Alzahrani projected the sector will create more than 77,000 quality jobs and cut carbon emissions by 73 million tons annually.

Waste in Saudi Arabia, he noted, is no longer merely an environmental challenge linked to urban expansion but an emerging economic and industrial pillar that recycles resources and transforms waste into productive inputs, reducing reliance on oil.

SIRC, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund and established in 2017, is the main driver of Saudi Arabia’s waste-management sector. It serves as a platform to empower the private sector and develop the infrastructure needed to meet Vision 2030 sustainability and economic diversification goals.

Alzahrani described the shift as a fundamental move from the traditional service-based model of waste treatment to a standalone industrial sector built on circular-economy principles.

SIRC functions as a national arm and strategic investor, working with government entities and the private sector to build an integrated system for sorting, treating, recycling, and converting waste into value-added industrial resources.

The sector aims to divert 90 percent of waste away from landfills by 2040 while helping save more than 60 million barrels of crude oil through waste-to-energy and alternative fuel production.

The strategy, he added, goes beyond addressing a growing environmental challenge by creating a new industrial sector capable of generating added value, strengthening local content, and positioning Saudi Arabia among the world’s leading circular economies.

Investment opportunities extend beyond recycling plants to the entire value chain, including collection, sorting, digital solutions, logistics, and the development of stable markets for recycled materials.

These opportunities span municipal waste, construction and demolition debris, plastics, metals, and electronic and industrial waste.

According to Alzahrani, SIRC’s central role is to transform these opportunities into commercially viable projects by “reducing investment ambiguity,” providing accurate market data, ensuring stable supplies and economic feasibility, and creating a regulatory environment attractive to domestic and international investors.

On the broader economic impact, he explained that returning recovered materials to the production cycle keeps value within the national economy for longer. It also gives local manufacturers greater resilience against global market volatility and raw-material price swings by enabling them to rely on high-quality recycled domestic resources available in stable commercial quantities, while reducing environmental impacts and carbon emissions.

Official data from the General Authority for Statistics show total recorded waste in Saudi Arabia rose to 135.1 million tons in 2024, up from 111.4 million tons in 2023. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing generated the largest share at 46.9 million tons, followed by construction (32.2 million tons), households (20.5 million tons), and industry (26.7 million tons), with manufacturing accounting for 68.6 percent of industrial waste.

By material type, organic waste represented the largest share at 45.7 percent (about 61.7 million tons), followed by construction materials (22.8 percent) and plastics (5.8 percent).

Business

Ministry of Tourism Highlights Investment Opportunities at FHS Saudi Arabia 2026

The Ministry highlighted Saudi Arabia’s growing appeal as a tourism investment destination and showcased the wide range of opportunities emerging across the Kingdom’s rapidly developing tourism sector. (SPA)
The Ministry highlighted Saudi Arabia’s growing appeal as a tourism investment destination and showcased the wide range of opportunities emerging across the Kingdom’s rapidly developing tourism sector. (SPA)
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Ministry of Tourism Highlights Investment Opportunities at FHS Saudi Arabia 2026

The Ministry highlighted Saudi Arabia’s growing appeal as a tourism investment destination and showcased the wide range of opportunities emerging across the Kingdom’s rapidly developing tourism sector. (SPA)
The Ministry highlighted Saudi Arabia’s growing appeal as a tourism investment destination and showcased the wide range of opportunities emerging across the Kingdom’s rapidly developing tourism sector. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism participated in the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) Saudi Arabia 2026, held in Riyadh from June 22 to 24, bringing together investors, developers, operators, and leading global brands from across the hospitality and tourism sectors.

Through its participation as the Strategic Enabler of the Kingdom's premier hospitality investment forum, the Ministry highlighted Saudi Arabia’s growing appeal as a tourism investment destination and showcased the wide range of opportunities emerging across the Kingdom’s rapidly developing tourism sector, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday.

In his opening address, Deputy Minister for Tourism Destinations Enablement Eng. Mahmoud Abdulhadi said: “Saudi Arabia is not asking investors to invest in a promise. It is inviting them into a market already moving at scale.”

Highlighting the breadth of this opportunity, he added: “Saudi tourism is not built on one project, one city, or one market segment. It is a national portfolio of destinations shaped for diverse demand.”

Abdulhadi also participated in a fireside chat titled “From Opportunity to Bankability: Saudi Tourism’s Next Investment Chapter,” where he stressed that Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector has entered a new phase focused on elevating the quality of the visitor experience.

“My advice to investors is simple: come, explore, and engage with the ecosystem. The opportunity is not only in building assets, but in creating high-quality experiences for the traveler,” he said.

Throughout the three-day event, the Ministry of Tourism presented Saudi Arabia’s evolving tourism landscape, highlighting its efforts to foster an investment-enabling environment and unlock new opportunities across the Kingdom’s destinations in support of Saudi Vision 2030 and the sector’s long-term growth.

The Ministry also introduced local and international investors to its targeted incentive programs and initiatives designed to support their investment journey, most notably the Tourism Investment Enablers Program (TIEP) and the Hospitality Investment Enablers (HIE) initiative.

During FHS, the Ministry launched the Global Investment in Saudi Tourism report, which highlights key growth indicators in the sector, the expansion of leading global hospitality brands in the Saudi market, and ongoing efforts to strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a premier global destination for tourism investment.

The Ministry of Tourism’s participation in FHS Saudi Arabia 2026 forms part of its ongoing efforts to engage local and international investors and partners, unlock high-quality investment opportunities, and support private sector participation in the development of the tourism industry, advancing the objectives of the National Tourism Strategy and Saudi Vision 2030.