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Saudi Arabia Adopts New System To Enhance Cyber Security

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology held a number of meetings on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology held a number of meetings on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Adopts New System To Enhance Cyber Security

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology held a number of meetings on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology held a number of meetings on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. (SPA)

The Saudi Council of Ministers has recently approved the information and communications technology (ICT) system, with the aim to develop the sector and raise the efficiency of its services.

According to the new system, service providers should take full care to ensure the protection of cyber security and critical infrastructure in the country, according to the requirements of the competent authorities.

The system aims to develop the ICT sector, to raise the efficiency of its services and develop its infrastructure, as well as to encourage digital transformation and the use of communications and information technology it in all fields.

The objectives of the system also include encouraging innovation, entrepreneurship, research and technical progress within the sector, develop subsidiary activities and emerging technologies, and promote new services, in addition to providing an attractive environment for investments in priority areas, and raising the efficiency of national companies.

Eng. Abdullah Al-Sawaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, has recently met with his counterparts from Rwanda and Finland, with the aim to strengthen the strategic partnership between the Kingdom and friendly countries, and discuss means to support mechanisms of joint cooperation in the fields of technology, innovation, entrepreneurship and building digital capabilities.

On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Al-Sawaha also held meetings with a number of heads of major IT companies to discuss available investment opportunities. Those included Tech Mahindra CEO Chander Prakash Gurnani, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and Alibaba Group Chairman John Michael Evans.

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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.