“Data is the single most important driver of our growth and reform and we have a clear roadmap for transforming Saudi Arabia into a leading AI and data-driven economy.”
-Dr Abdullah bin Sharaf Al Ghamdi, President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, which is establishing a national data bank to consolidate more than 80 government datasets and also planning to build one of the largest clouds in the region by merging 83 data centers owned by more than 40 government bodies. [Global Government Forum]
“As I look at the theater, we remain focused on Iran as our central problem. This headquarters focuses on Iran, executing deterrence activities against Iran, and doing those things.”
Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, U.S. Central Command head, speaking at a U.S. Institute for Peace event.
“Globally we understand that environmental, social or governance (ESG) funds are becoming an investment requirement, and we don’t want to be behind on this in the Saudi market.”
-Khalid Al-Hussan, CEO of the Saudi Stock Market, on the announcement that the Tadawul plans to launch an ESG index in cooperation with global index provider MSCI by the fourth quarter of this year or first quarter of 2021. [Reuters]
“Artificial Intelligence was a very futuristic word five years ago. But now the filter in Snapchat uses AI, so it’s not that far-fetched. It’s not that science fiction terminology anymore. It’s real. It’s day-to-day stuff.”
-Tariq Nasraldeen, Founder and CEO of Firnas Aero, a pioneering Saudi startup offering Drone as a Service (DaaS). The company got its start through the TAQADAM Startup Accelerator at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in 2019 and currently competes with traditional manual facility inspections with plans to expand to airports, industrial complexes, various governmental institutions and, ultimately, delivery. [KAUST via Arab News]
“Over the past 4 years, the young Saudi labor force participation rate has increased 4.4%. During that period the young Saudi female participation rate increased 6.3% and young Saudi males 2%.”
-Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics released an extensive study entitled Saudi Youth in Numbers on the occasion of International Youth Day 2020. [General Authority for Statistics]
“Saudis spend a daily average of four hours on their mobile phones for entertainment, the research found, much less in comparison to an hour and 58 minutes spent watching TV.”
-Independent market research company The National Research Group, examined how the younger generations – Gen Z and Millennials – consume mobile content in their daily lives. [Arab News]
“Saudi Arabia is where the opportunities will happen in future. There is a great energy here and the international community is growing.”
-Michael Gilmore speaks with The Irish Times about his journey from working in his father’s pub to catching on with a recruiting firm in Dubai in 2103 to starting his own recruitment agency in 2017 to now overseeing recruitment for the Amaala 7 resort on the Red Sea. [Irish Times]
“Around 90% of global trade is underpinned by financial instruments, including trade finance and credit insurance. Yet, data from the Asian Development Bank shows the global trade finance gap has not budged from approximately US$ 1.5 trillion since the 2008 financial crisis.”
-Lubna Olayan, Chair of the Trade & Investment Taskforce at B20 Saudi Arabia, Chairperson of the Saudi British Bank, Chair of the Executive Committee at Olayan Financing Company and Chair of Olayan Saudi Holding Company, posts in the B20 Saudi Arabia blog on the importance of vastly increasing trade finance capability to reinvigorate trade and the global economy. [B20 Saudi Arabia]
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is watching with grave concern the aftermath of the explosion that occurred in the port of Beirut today, which resulted in deaths and injuries. We express our sincerest condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims and the injured. We ask God to have mercy on those who died in this tragic event, to grant those injured a speedy recovery, and to protect Lebanon from all harm. We affirm the Kingdom’s full support and solidarity with the brotherly people of Lebanon.”
-Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Twitter following the explosions in Beirut, Lebanon yesterday. [Twitter]
“We are working on submitting the file of the wonderful Farasan Islands Reserve to be registered in the UNESCO MAB List. Our country is precious with its people and its natural and cultural diversity.”
-Prince Badr Bin Farhan, minister of culture and chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society, on his plans to submit the Farasan Islands to the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB). [Saudi Gazette]
