Saudi Arabia calls for sustainable Gulf digital connectivity and enhancing integration in artificial intelligence

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia called for building an interconnected and sustainable Gulf digital system, based on integrating computing capabilities and preserving data sovereignty, in a way that enhances cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and supports the competitiveness of Gulf companies in global markets.

This came in a speech by the Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Engineer Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawaha, during the 30th meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Posts and Telecommunications of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which was held in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Al-Sawaha stressed that the Kingdom is working, under the guidance of the leadership, with the GCC countries to enhance Gulf integration through three main pillars, which include the transition from digital resilience to leadership in artificial intelligence, the integration of energy and computing while maintaining data sovereignty, in addition to building joint markets that support entrepreneurship and global competitiveness.

He explained that the Kingdom has strengthened the communications and data movement infrastructure in the GCC countries, adding more than 8.4 terabits per second to international capacities, and raising the capacity by about 80% to reach 18 terabits per second.

He pointed out that the Kingdom submitted to the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Presidency a proposal to establish a sustainable Gulf digital interconnection, similar to the electrical interconnection, with the aim of enhancing digital resilience and establishing a joint system that guarantees the continuity of services and communications.

Within the framework of integration of energy and computing, Al-Sawaha stated that the Kingdom has provided various locations and electrical capacities of up to 14 gigawatts for data centers that serve the Kingdom, the GCC countries, the region and the world, calling for the development of a sustainable model of cooperation in this field.

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology stressed the importance of opening markets and harmonizing standards and norms, enabling Gulf companies to transcend the boundaries of regional competition and reach global markets.

He pointed out that the GCC countries host more than 20 billion-dollar companies, while the Gulf region accounts for about 95% of venture capital investments in the region, which reflects the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Al-Sawaha stressed that the next stage requires working within a single Gulf system in the fields of data, computing, cloud and artificial intelligence, and developing an interconnected digital structure that allows citizens and companies to benefit from services efficiently and easily across the GCC countries.

He concluded by emphasizing that linking and integrating existing capabilities represents a basis for enhancing the ability of the Gulf countries to compete globally, and transforming their technical and economic capabilities into a joint force that supports their leadership in the age of artificial intelligence.