Saudi Arabia to host Global AI Summit in 2020

The Global AI Summit was announced on the sidelines of the Foreign Investment Initiative. (Supplied)
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Updated 20 October 2020
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Saudi Arabia to host Global AI Summit in 2020

  • The summit being held under patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
  • The summit is part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to become a leader in AI technology

RIYADH: The Global Artificial Intelligence Summit 2020 will be held in Saudi Arabia, according to Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The summit — held under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — will take place in Riyadh on 30-31 March next year.

The event is the leading international forum to advance AI understanding and knowledge sharing among global AI experts.

The summit is part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to become a leader in AI technology and drive discussions and partnerships between local and international stakeholders in the AI field. 

The event will be a focus for discussion on AI, its importance, applications and impact on societies, economies and politics.

The Global AI Summit was announced on the sidelines of the Foreign Investment Initiative, being held this week in the Kingdom, during an address from Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, President of Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA).

Speaking at the announcement Dr. Abdullah said: “Artificial intelligence is playing a central role in the digital transformation of all sectors of human activity, from business and enterprise, to key national industries, government, healthcare, and many more areas beside. 

“AI is bringing us new insight and new capabilities that is reshaping the world around us. The Global AI Summit will become an international platform to discuss those changes and to understand how AI technology can be utilized for the benefit of all,” he added.

The Saudi Data and Artificial intelligence Authority was established by royal decree in August 2019, to become the main government entity to facilitate and enable the adoption of AI in the Kingdom, particularly in relation to achieving the Vision 2030 goals.

The Global AI Summit will be attended by government leaders, heads of enterprise and industry, and technology companies, along with academics and researchers in AI; AI startups, investors and entrepreneurs.

The event will include keynote sessions from thought leaders in the field of AI and related disciplines, along with plenary sessions and breakouts. 

The focus will be on enabling a global conversation, and creating dialogue centered on the adoption of AI and how participating countries and enterprises can become leaders in deploying the technology.

The Global AI Summit will take place at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center and Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh.

For more information, please see www.theglobalaisummit.com


Saudi Arabia’s KAUST named FIFA’s first research institute in MENA

The canal in the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology campus. (Shutterstock)
Updated 10 February 2026
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Saudi Arabia’s KAUST named FIFA’s first research institute in MENA

  • KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Kingdom’s growing presence in international football

RIYADH: FIFA has designated the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as its first research institute in the Middle East and Asia to support the development of innovative football research, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

The recognition highlights KAUST’s commitment to integrating sports, academic research and industry through advanced, high-level initiatives grounded in rigorous scientific methodologies, contributing to the advancement of football studies.

KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing presence in international football.

The accreditation aligns with national efforts to invest in research and development and promote the knowledge economy, supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of building an advanced sports system based on innovation and sustainability.

The collaboration’s first project focuses on developing advanced AI algorithms to analyze historical FIFA World Cup broadcast footage, transforming decades of match videos into structured, searchable data, according to the KAUST website.

This work opens new opportunities to apply state-of-the-art computer vision techniques and deepen understanding of how football has evolved over time.

The second project uses player and ball tracking data from the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand to compile comprehensive datasets capturing in-game dynamics.

These datasets provide deeper insights into human movement, playing techniques and performance dynamics through AI-driven analysis.