Saudi Arabia represented by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) of the United Nations has recently reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on initiatives aimed at supporting, strengthening and optimizing the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for sustainable development globally.
During the Global AI summit hosted in Riyadh, the Saudi ITU MOU was signed on the second day for making AI best practices available to everyone on this planet. In this collaborative agreement, Saudi Arabia will support ITU in developing initiatives, activities and projects facilitating the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through international cooperation, knowledge sharing and multi-stakeholder participation.
As per Saudi Press Agency (SPA), this MOU announced with ITU in a virtual ceremony organized during the Global AI summit 2020 will help to develop an internationally recognized system for mobilizing resources and providing assistance to institutions willing to adopt AI technologies. Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, the President of the SDAIA welcomed this MOU as a significant step towards new investments and company formation in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Ghamdi said,” The ITU will share best practices in the field of AI with the Kingdom. This will help in shedding light on how to sponsor and support emerging companies and new incubators in the national space, especially as there is no official framework that currently exists to support the AI readiness of countries and international cooperation.” As per the President,” Around the world, nations have recognized the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence and are preparing themselves to harness the benefit of AI to support their development strategies and goals.”
“With this announcement of this MOU, Saudi Arabia intends to support ITU to design activities that will help strengthen global efforts to use AI technologies for the advancement of sustainable development and growth. SDAIA has been established to drive AI programs in the Kingdom, and enable Saudi Arabia to become a global leader in AI. Through this partnership we will support the sharing of knowledge and experience among all nations, to further the use of AI for the benefit of humanity.” HE Dr. Al- Ghamdi highlighted.
In his address, the ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said, ” AI is being used to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges, from climate change to the Covid-19 pandemic.” He also greeted the announcement of the MOU and said that the UN agency also looked forward to this partnership with SDAIA for developing initiatives and projects in AI technologies and promoting sustainable developments on a global scale.
The Secretary-General of the ITU also emphasized the importance of this collaborative agreement saying,” We dream of a world where nations harness the power of AI together, where we all exchange ideas and best practices, where we collaborate to unlock the full potential of AI. He also reiterated, “With AI impacting every aspect of today and tomorrow, collaboration is needed more than ever.”
Founded in 2019, the SDAIA is a world-class governing body to drive the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s AI innovations and ecosystems and also to lead AI optimization for global economic development and growth.
The Global AI Summit hosted by SDAIA is an international meet and brings the world’s important decision-makers, technologists and investors under a common Umbrella. Human welfare being the driving theme, this event recognizes the global disruption of the Covid pandemic and explores the transformative potential of AI and Smart Technologies to effectively handle the post covid new normal and make the world a better place to live. It is now evident that new AI startups and established global players will now be increasingly attracted to Saudi Arabia and look for how to open branch office in Saudi Arabia.
