Saudi Arabia ranked third as the fastest growing economy among the G20 countries, and first in the world in the 5G average download speed.
Some economists have raised expectations for the growth of the Saudi telecom market - the largest market in the Middle East and North Africa.
Saudi Arabia and the United States concluded a memorandum of cooperation in the field of 5G and 6G, with the aim of accelerating the growth of the digital economy and promoting the pace of research, development and innovation in the Kingdom.
Saudi businessman Abdullah Al-Malehi told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia had major leaps in the global ranks in the field of communications.
Pointing to figures by GSMA, Al-Malehi said that in 2020, the size of the communications and information technology market in the Kingdom amounted to USD36 billion, achieving a growth rate of seven percent compared to 2019.
The Saudi communications investor said that the revenues of telecom companies listed on the Saudi stock market continued to grow for the fourth year in a row, reaching 86.4 billion riyals (USD23 billion) in 2021, compared to about 81.12 billion riyals (USD21.6 billion) the previous year.
He also stressed that the size of the IT and emerging technologies market in the Kingdom amounted to more than USD17 billion, with a growth rate of 10 percent compared to 2019, while the contribution of the communications and information technology sector to the GDP reached 5.1 percent.
Al-Malehi explained that a new memorandum of cooperation linking technology companies in both the Kingdom and the United States would enhance the application of the 5G using open radio networks, enable the development of the 6G through similar technologies, and enhance partnership in the field of cloud infrastructure and related technologies.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Baeshen, head of the Al-Shorouk Center for Economic Studies in Jazan, stressed that the communications and information technology sector was the future of the digital economy, explaining that Saudi Vision 2030 included this field as a major axis for development and economic transformation.
He added that among the 18 agreements that Riyadh signed with Washington during President Joe Biden’s recent visit to the Kingdom was a major cooperation agreement in the field of technology and communications.
