Saudi Arabia, France in talks to enhance collaboration in digital economy
Saudi Arabia is reportedly exploring ways to enhance its bilateral collaboration with France to boost the digital economy.
The two nations are also looking to expand knowledge exchange efforts in the fields of digital technology and entertainment.
In a recent meeting, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawahah has discussed with the Ambassador of France to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ludovic Pouille, various means of enhancing initiatives in these areas.
Minister Eng. Al-Sawahah highlighted Saudi Arabia's digital structure that supported mega projects, the presence of a supportive digital legal framework, in addition to the national cadres with a high degree of professionalism, which contributed to accelerating Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation.
The minister also emphasised that Saudi Arabia is working on developing capabilities and capacities in the telecommunications and information technology sectors by increasing Saudi National cadres and raising women's participation.
They also reviewed Saudi Arabia’s efforts aiming at stimulating innovation and investment in the technology sector, as well as investment opportunities for French technology companies in the Saudi telecommunications and information technology sector.
Digital technologies are a pivotal aspect of Saudi Arabia's economic diversification plan Vision 2030. Launched in 2016, Vision 2030 set forth several strategic goals for ICT, which include expanding high-speed broadband coverage to 90% of households in densely populated cities and to 66% of households in other urban areas. It's also looking to strengthen partnerships with the private sector in order to develop new ICT infrastructure and the expansion of digital services to cut unnecessary bureaucracy.
