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.



Epic Games Accuses Samsung, Google of Scheme to Block App Rivals

 Fortnite game installing on Android operating system in this illustration taken, May 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Fortnite game installing on Android operating system in this illustration taken, May 2, 2021. (Reuters)
TT

Epic Games Accuses Samsung, Google of Scheme to Block App Rivals

 Fortnite game installing on Android operating system in this illustration taken, May 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Fortnite game installing on Android operating system in this illustration taken, May 2, 2021. (Reuters)

“Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games on Monday accused Alphabet’s Google and Samsung, the world’s largest Android phone manufacturer, of conspiring to protect Google’s Play store from competition.

Epic said it would file a lawsuit in US federal court in California alleging that a Samsung smartphone security feature called Auto Blocker was in truth intended to deter users from downloading Android apps from sources other than the Play store or Samsung's Galaxy store, which the Korean company elected to put on the back burner.

Samsung and Google are violating US antitrust law by reducing consumer choice and preventing competition that would make apps less expensive, Epic said.

The game company said Samsung's Auto Blocker was designed to blunt the impact of a US verdict that Epic won against Google in December 2023 that is expected to force the company to make apps easier to obtain from other sources.

Epic said it will also raise its competition concerns with regulators in the European Union, which has long scrutinized Google’s business practices.

Epic Chief Executive Tim Sweeney called the lawsuit part of a "major global fight" to defend competition and its benefits for consumers.

Samsung introduced Auto Blocker on its smartphones in late 2023 as an opt-in feature to protect users from downloading apps that may contain malware. Epic said Samsung made Auto Blocker the default setting in July and intentionally made it difficult to disable or bypass.

Cary, North Carolina-based Epic Games sued Google in 2020, claiming it stifled competition through its controls over app distribution and payments.

In that case, US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco is weighing what changes the company must make to its app business after the jury's December finding that it held an illegal monopoly.