Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said on Thursday the Kingdom has taken bold steps to support future economies and innovation.
The minister revealed efforts to bridge the digital divide and to foster green energy projects in the northwestern NEOM region.
He stressed that the Kingdom’s presidency of the G20 in 2020 led to the transformation of the digital economy team into a permanent working group, to seize the opportunities provided by the sector and increase development and economic growth rates of the G20 members.
Al-Swaha made his comments during his participation in the meeting of digital economy ministers under Indonesia’s presidency of the G20 in Bali. The event saw the participation of ICT ministers and experts in group member states.
The minister noted that Saudi Vision 2030 was keen on supporting Saudi women as an important contributor to the development of the homeland.
In this regard, he said Saudi Arabia has improved women empowerment, from 7% in 2017 to over 30% in 2022, adding that his country was seeking to train more than 600 women in the Middle East and North Africa, as part of its cooperation with Apple Developer Academy.
Al-Swaha also pointed to innovative efforts in bridging the digital gap and enhancing green energy projects in NEOM.
He praised the outcomes of Saudi Arabia’s presidency for the G20, which resulted in changing the G20 Digital Economy Task Force (DETF) into the Digital Economy Work Group (DEWG), and “played an appreciated role in seizing opportunities provided by the digital economy and increasing development rates and economic growth for G20 countries.”
