RIYADH: Saudi Arabia launched a series of initiatives on Wednesday to enhance the Kingdom’s global ranking in digital areas such as artificial intelligence.
Among them is a new program called Hima, which aims to sup- port innovation in enterprises with a value of SR2.5 billion ($670 million), the Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Abdullah Al-Swaha, said at the launch event in Riyadh.
The minister said the Kingdom would increase the number of computer programmers for every 100,000 citizens as a way to measure the success of creating a capable workforce.
This growth would be sup- ported with the creation of many technical and digital academies in the Kingdom with leading international partners, he said.
Saudi Arabia aims to be one of the top five countries globally in AI, and this required the creation of 25,000 specialists jobs in data science and AI before 2030, said Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, head of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority.
Saudi Arabia will see significant growth in all major areas of digital technology from the Internet of Things to cloud computing, increasing the entire size of the information and communication technology sector to $27 billion by 2025, Mohammed Al-Tamimi, governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, told a forum in Riyadh.
Similarly, the IoT market size is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 26 percent, while cloud services are expected to make up to 30 percent of the total ICT spend in the Kingdom by 2030, he said.
Saudi Arabia launches tech initiatives to boost Kingdom’s global ranking and create more startups
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Saudi Arabia launches tech initiatives to boost Kingdom’s global ranking and create more startups
- Saudi Arabia aims to be one of the top five countries globally in AI
Jordan’s industry fuels 39% of Q2 GDP growth
JEDDAH: Jordan’s industrial sector emerged as a major contributor to economic performance in 2025, accounting for 39 percent of gross domestic product growth in the second quarter and 92 percent of national exports.
Manufactured exports increased 8.9 percent year on year during the first nine months of 2025, reaching 6.4 billion Jordanian dinars ($9 billion), driven by stronger external demand. The expansion aligns with the country’s Economic Modernization Vision, which aims to position the country as a regional hub for high-value industrial exports, the Jordan News Agency, known as Petra, quoted the Jordan Chamber of Industry President Fathi Jaghbir as saying.
Export growth was broad-based, with eight of 10 industrial subsectors posting gains. Food manufacturing, construction materials, packaging, and engineering industries led performance, supported by expanded market access across Europe, Arab countries, and Africa.
In 2025, Jordanian industrial products reached more than 144 export destinations, including emerging Asian and African markets such as Ethiopia, Djibouti, Thailand, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Arab countries accounted for 42 percent of industrial exports, with Saudi Arabia remaining the largest market at 955 million dinars.
Exports to Syria rose sharply to nearly 174 million dinars, while shipments to Iraq and Lebanon totaled approximately 745 million dinars. Demand from advanced markets also strengthened, with exports to India reaching 859 million dinars and Italy about 141 million dinars.
Industrial output also showed steady improvement. The industrial production index rose 1.47 percent during the first nine months of 2025, led by construction industries at 2.7 percent, packaging at 2.3 percent, and food and livestock-related industries at 1.7 percent.
Employment gains accompanied the sector’s expansion, with more than 6,000 net new manufacturing jobs created during the period, lifting total industrial employment to approximately 270,000 workers. Nearly half of the new jobs were generated in food manufacturing, reflecting export-driven growth.
Jaghbir said industrial exports remain among the economy’s highest value-added activities, noting that every dinar invested generates an estimated 2.17 dinars through employment, logistics, finance, and supply-chain linkages. The sector also plays a critical role in narrowing the trade deficit and supporting macroeconomic stability.
Investment activity accelerated across several subsectors in 2025, including food processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, mining, textiles, and leather, as manufacturers expanded capacity and upgraded production lines to meet rising demand.
Jaghbir attributed part of the sector’s momentum to government measures aimed at strengthening competitiveness and improving the business environment. Key steps included freezing reductions in customs duties for selected industries, maintaining exemptions for production inputs, reinstating tariffs on goods with local alternatives, and imposing a 16 percent customs duty on postal parcels to support domestic producers.
Additional incentives in industrial cities and broader structural reforms were also cited as improving the investment climate, reducing operational burdens, and balancing consumer needs with protection of local industries.
