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SDAIA: Saudi Arabia is a Pioneer in Smart City Initiatives

The director of the National Information Center at the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) confirmed that the Kingdom has launched initiatives in the field of smart cities. SPA
The director of the National Information Center at the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) confirmed that the Kingdom has launched initiatives in the field of smart cities. SPA
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SDAIA: Saudi Arabia is a Pioneer in Smart City Initiatives

The director of the National Information Center at the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) confirmed that the Kingdom has launched initiatives in the field of smart cities. SPA
The director of the National Information Center at the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) confirmed that the Kingdom has launched initiatives in the field of smart cities. SPA

The director of the National Information Center at the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), Dr. Esam bin Abdullah Al-Wagait, confirmed that the Kingdom has launched initiatives in the field of smart cities inspired by innovation.

He made a speech on Wednesday during the Smart City Expo World Congress held in Barcelona, where he said that generative artificial intelligence (AI) integrated into city services and urban solutions will become the cornerstone of future smart-city initiatives.

He also indicated that using the power of generative AI will not only include designs and urbanization of cities but will create smart cities adapted to the needs of their residents and promoting a sustainable and inclusive living environment.

Al-Wagait reiterated that in support of the increasing use of the Internet of Things (IoT), the Kingdom has demonstrated its commitment to the basic vision that stipulates enhancing the smart-city environment in which communication and connectivity are not just applied concepts but a lifestyle, seamlessly integrating IoT into the city’s technical structure.

He also underscored the transformation of the pioneering national project NEOM, as the project is a realistic embodiment of the future vision of smart cities through the effective use of IoT, big data, and AI, which aims to redefine the concepts of urban design and planning and set new global standards for efficiency in improving every aspect of the urban city and achieving well-being for its citizens.

He noted the transformation journey of SDAIA through its various initiatives, including establishing the Smart Riyadh Operations Center (Smart ROC), which works as a central point that uses data and AI techniques to monitor, analyze, and forecast operational indicators in various sectors in Riyadh. He said the major mission of the center is to address the city's challenges, improve quality of life, infrastructure, and urban services.

He said SDAIA has developed smart systems to monitor crowds and traffic through coordination with government agencies to build AI-based systems which supported the center to successfully manage traffic during the International Technology Conference (LEAP23) in Riyadh, led to reducing traffic congestion by 36% and ensured a quick and effective response to ambulance and emergency cases in record time.

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Business

African Leaders to Gather in Egypt for Business Summit

Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File
Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File
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African Leaders to Gather in Egypt for Business Summit

Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File
Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions. © KHALED DESOUKI / AFP/File

African leaders will meet in Egypt on Friday for a business summit that Cairo hopes will bolster its clout across the continent.

Friday's forum is expected to bring together more than 20 heads of state and government representatives in the Mediterranean city of Alamein, alongside business leaders, bankers and development institutions.

"This is an African platform," Egypt's deputy foreign minister for African affairs Mohamed Abu Bakr Saleh told AFP.

"A country in East Africa should be able to sign an agreement with a country in West, North or southern Africa through this platform."

Saleh said the forum would become a biennial event under an African Union mandate, focusing on infrastructure, trade, agriculture, healthcare, mining, technology and renewable energy.

Officials estimate Egyptian investments across Africa at around $14 billion. Among Egypt's flagship ventures is Tanzania's $3 billion Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project, built by a consortium led by Egyptian companies.

Yet trade within Africa remains limited, totalling just $192 billion in 2023 and only accounting for around 15 percent of the continent's total trade, compared with more than 55 percent in Asia and over 70 percent in Europe.

Africa also attracted about $70 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025, a fraction of the roughly $1.6 trillion invested globally, according to the UN.

"Africa possesses vast resources, but they are still not being exploited to the level we would like to see," Saleh said.

The gathering also takes place against the backdrop of an unresolved dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the $5 billion GERD, Africa's largest hydroelectric project.

Ethiopia says the dam, inaugurated last year, is vital for economic growth, while Egypt says it could threaten Nile water supplies without a binding operating agreement.

More than a decade of negotiations have failed to yield a settlement.

"Our position on Egypt's water security has not changed and will not change," Saleh said. "It is an existential issue for Egypt."

Business

US Ban on $1 Billion Worth of Canadian Imports Goes into Effect

Shipping containers in the Port of Montreal, Canada (Reuters)
Shipping containers in the Port of Montreal, Canada (Reuters)
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US Ban on $1 Billion Worth of Canadian Imports Goes into Effect

Shipping containers in the Port of Montreal, Canada (Reuters)
Shipping containers in the Port of Montreal, Canada (Reuters)

US-Canada relations, already tense, are likely to deteriorate further after the United States went ahead early Tuesday with a decision to ban nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian imports, including dairy products and motorcycles.

The ban amounts to barely a ripple in $880 billion worth of a two-way annual trade between the two northern neighbors. But it marks another ratcheting up of President Donald Trump’s second-term trade war with America’s longtime ally and trading partner.

The import ban “certainly won't do anything to help the trade tensions between the United States and Canada,'' said trade attorney Patrick Childress, a partner at Holland & Knight and a former US trade official.

The latest sparring began over the summer when Trump reached back to a Great Depression law to impose 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian imports, charging that Canada discriminates against US dairy and auto producers. Canada promptly counterpunched with tariffs of 15% and 25%, matching US imports dollar for dollar.

To punish Canada for retaliating against his tariffs, Trump decided to ban a list of Canadian products, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday.

The economic impact is likely to be minimal. Childress noted that the products on the banned list were already facing Trump’s tariffs. “For a lot of these goods, the 50% was already acting as a de facto ban by making importation from Canada into the United States uneconomical,″ he said.

Jacob Jensen, director of trade policy at the center-right American Action Forum think tank, calculates that the ban would cover $967 million worth of Canadian imports, based on 2025 numbers.

“This marks yet another escalation in the trade war that may result in further retaliation on the Canadian side,” Jensen said. He expects Canadian exporters and US importers “impacted by these bans will be highly motivated’’ to demand that trade officials on both sides find some way to reach a “resolution of this whole ordeal.’’

Business

Birol: IEA Member States Will Discuss Strategic Oil Reserve Releases if Needed

This photograph shows the entrance to the International Energy Agency (IEA) headquarters in Paris on March 11, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
This photograph shows the entrance to the International Energy Agency (IEA) headquarters in Paris on March 11, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
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Birol: IEA Member States Will Discuss Strategic Oil Reserve Releases if Needed

This photograph shows the entrance to the International Energy Agency (IEA) headquarters in Paris on March 11, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
This photograph shows the entrance to the International Energy Agency (IEA) headquarters in Paris on March 11, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

The International Energy Agency's member states may discuss whether more strategic oil reserves could be released on the market in the future, IEA head Fatih Birol said on Tuesday.

"We are ⁠following the markets ⁠very closely, especially the product markets, diesel and others. If there is a need, ⁠of course, we will discuss with our member governments to take the necessary steps," he told reporters in Dublin ahead of a meeting of EU energy ministers.

Birol declined to ⁠comment ⁠on proposals hinted at by French President Emmanuel Macron and others to release more strategic reserves in a bid to lower oil prices.