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Saudi Delegation Visits Portugal, Austria to Boost Saudi High-Tech Manufacturing

Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources logo
Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources logo
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Saudi Delegation Visits Portugal, Austria to Boost Saudi High-Tech Manufacturing

Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources logo
Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources logo

A Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources delegation recently visited Portugal and Austria to discuss enhancing cooperation in high-technology manufacturing. The delegation met with government and private entities in both countries.

In Portugal, the delegation, led by the Director General of Manufacturing Localization and Increasing Local Content Engineer Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Janini, held discussions with representatives of the Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency and the Arab-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The focus was on supporting and stimulating the high-tech manufacturing environment in Saudi Arabia and exchanging expertise in this field. The delegation also visited leading Portuguese factories in the high-tech manufacturing sector, including the Unicorn Factory incubator, which supports startups and entrepreneurs in the technology sector.

In Austria, the delegation visited the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) headquarters to review the Kingdom's efforts to support and develop the industrial environment. Additionally, the delegation discussed the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources' preparations to host the Multilateral Industrial Policy Forum 2024 (MIPF) in Riyadh this month.

The visits were part of the ministry's efforts to strengthen international partnerships that aim to support the development of the industrial sector, encourage innovation and knowledge transfer, localize advanced technologies, and enhance the Kingdom's position as a leading industrial center in the region.

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Apple and Google Face UK Investigation into Mobile Browser Dominance

The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake
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Apple and Google Face UK Investigation into Mobile Browser Dominance

The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The logo of Google LLC is shown at an entrance to one of their buildings in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new UK digital rules taking effect next year.

The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said, The AP reported.

“This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices,” the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on “mobile ecosystems.”

The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers “the clearest or easiest option.”

And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two US Big Tech companies “significantly reduces their financial incentives” to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.

Both companies said they will “engage constructively” with the CMA.

Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.

Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system “has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's “committed to open platforms that empower consumers.”

It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the dominance of Big Tech companies. US federal prosecutors this week unveiled their proposals to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser as they target its monopoly in online search.

The CMA's final report is due by March. The watchdog indicated it would recommend using the UK's new digital competition rulebook set to take effect next year, which includes new powers to rein in tech companies, to prioritize further investigation into Apple’s and Google’s “activities in mobile ecosystems."