Saudi Arabia ranks 7th globally in internet speed, 5G: Communications minister

Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, says there should be more innovative digitalized investments. (Supplied)
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Updated 28 January 2021
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Saudi Arabia ranks 7th globally in internet speed, 5G: Communications minister

  • ‘We should have more innovative digitalized investments’

Saudi Arabia is ranked seventh globally in terms of 5G technology and internet speed, said Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, on the sidelines of the fourth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII).

“We should have more innovative digitalized investments, in the light of the challenges and the unclarity that will come ahead of us in the future," Alswaha added.

Saudi Aramco has more than $270 million (SR1 billion) in technology investments with Google – the largest in the MENA region, thanks to resilience, execution and speed.

The recently-announced “The Line” project in NEOM is a revolutionary idea of a 170-kilometer belt of hyper-connected artificial intelligence-enabled future communities, without cars and roads and built around nature.

It is a renewable energy, and pollution-free model that would cut costs, the minister said.


Aramco achieves 70% local content target through iktva program 

Updated 13 sec ago
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Aramco achieves 70% local content target through iktva program 

RIYADH: Saudi Aramco said its supply chain localization program has reached a target of 70 percent local content, underscoring the company’s push to deepen domestic industrial capacity. 

The state energy giant said its iktva program has added more than $280 billion to Saudi Arabia’s economy since its launch, converting procurement spending into local manufacturing, investment and job creation. 

Aramco plans to raise local content in its procurement of goods and services to 75 percent by 2030, extending a strategy aimed at strengthening supply chain resilience and supporting long-term economic diversification. 

Saudi Arabia has been accelerating local manufacturing and supply chain development as part of Vision 2030 reforms designed to diversify the economy beyond oil and create private-sector employment. 

Amin H Nasser, president and CEO of Aramco, said: “I am immensely proud of the transformational effect iktva has had on Aramco and its positive impact on Saudi Arabia’s economy.”  

He added: This announcement marks a major milestone in the program’s journey and reflects an important leap in the Kingdom’s industrial development, which is largely aligned with our ambitious national vision.”  

Nasser said that iktva is a core pillar of Aramco’s strategy to build a competitive national industrial ecosystem that supports the energy sector while enabling broader economic growth and creating thousands of job opportunities for Saudi nationals.  

“By localizing the supply chain, iktva ensures operational reliability while mitigating disruption. Its 10-year cumulative impact reflects the depth and sustainability of the value it continues to generate,” he added.  

Over the past decade, the program has identified more than 200 localization opportunities across 12 sectors representing an annual market worth about $28 billion. 

These have triggered more than 350 investments from companies in 35 countries, backed by $9 billion in capital, enabling 47 strategic products to be manufactured domestically for the first time, Aramco said. 

The initiative has also supported the creation of more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs across the Kingdom, helping expand Saudi Arabia’s industrial base. 

Saudi Arabia’s local content programs aim to keep more spending within the national economy by encouraging companies to manufacture goods, source services and develop expertise domestically rather than relying on foreign suppliers.