عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Technology

Saudi Arabia, Japan Reach Strategic Partnership to Develop Digital Economy

The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Japan’s Digital Agency have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning digital economy.
The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Japan’s Digital Agency have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning digital economy.
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia, Japan Reach Strategic Partnership to Develop Digital Economy

The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Japan’s Digital Agency have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning digital economy.
The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Japan’s Digital Agency have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning digital economy.

The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Japan’s Digital Agency have signed a memorandum of understanding concerning digital economy, developing digital government and accelerating the adoption of modern technologies, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday.

The agreement was reached during the visit headed by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha to Japan to boost partnership in the fields of technology, innovation and space.

Under its terms, the two countries will cooperate to promote and support government digital services, including digital platforms, e-signatures and documentation, build capacity and share knowledge.

The two sides will also cooperate in research and innovation, establishing research teams to develop digital government services and exchange best practices and policies that enable the use of emerging technologies in businesses and improve customer experience.

The memorandum was signed by Al-Swaha and Japanese Minister for Digital Transformation Kono Taro; several officials from both sides attended the signing ceremony.

Most Viewed

 
 
Technology

Former ASML CEO says US-China Chip Fight Will Continue

Peter Wennink, President and CEO of Dutch chip machine maker ASML presents his company's Q4 results, in Veldhoven, Netherlands January 24, 2024. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Peter Wennink, President and CEO of Dutch chip machine maker ASML presents his company's Q4 results, in Veldhoven, Netherlands January 24, 2024. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT
TT

Former ASML CEO says US-China Chip Fight Will Continue

Peter Wennink, President and CEO of Dutch chip machine maker ASML presents his company's Q4 results, in Veldhoven, Netherlands January 24, 2024. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Peter Wennink, President and CEO of Dutch chip machine maker ASML presents his company's Q4 results, in Veldhoven, Netherlands January 24, 2024. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

The recently retired CEO of semiconductor equipment maker ASML said in an interview with Dutch radio station BNR on Saturday that US-China disputes over computer chips are ideological and not based on facts, and they are set to continue.

Wennink left in April after a ten year term at the helm of ASML that saw it become Europe's largest technology firm. Since 2018, the US has imposed increasing restrictions on what tools the company can export to China, its second-largest market after Taiwan, citing security concerns. According to Reuters, most recently the US has sought to keep the company from servicing equipment already sold to Chinese customers.

"These kind of discussions are not being conducted on the basis of facts or content or numbers or data but on the basis of ideology," Wennink said.

"You can think whatever you want about that, but we're a business where the interests of your stakeholders have to be managed in balance ... If ideology cuts straight through that, I have problems with that."

He said the company has had customers and staff in China for 30 years "so you also have obligations".

As part of seeking to strike a balance, Wennink said he had lobbied where possible to prevent export restrictions from becoming too tight, and at the same time he had complained to high-ranking Chinese politicians when he felt the company's intellectual property wasn't being respected.

"I think in Washington, maybe they sometimes thought, that Mr. Wennink, maybe he's a friend of China," he said.

"No. I'm a friend to my customers, to my suppliers, to my employees, to my shareholders."

He forecast that given geopolitical interests are at stake, the chip war could take decades to play out.

"This is going to go on for a while," he said.