RIYADH: A Saudi minister on Thursday joined a high-level international meeting to discuss innovation economics and female empowerment in the workforce, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Abdullah Al-Swaha, minister of communications and information technology, took part in talks held during the Group of Twenty digital ministers’ meeting.
The G20 is a strategic multilateral platform connecting the world’s major developed and emerging economies. The theme of this year’s summit, held in Bali under Indonesia’s G20 presidency, is “Recover Together, Recover Stronger,” emphasizing the importance of collective action to tackle the ongoing global repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic
Al-Swaha told delegates that the world’s sustainable and comprehensive recovery paths relied on technology and innovation, citing Saudi Arabia’s proactive measures in line with Vision 2030 objectives as a model example.
He said the Saudi leadership’s support for the technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship sectors had contributed to the Kingdom’s pioneering status as a regional tech hub.
He noted that the qualitative growth in bold capital investments last year was 270 percent higher than that achieved in 2020 and 2019.
The minister added that Vision 2030 placed great importance on the role of Saudi women in advancing the Kingdom, and he pointed out that the country had increased its female workforce participation from 7 percent in 2017 to more than 30 percent this year.
As a regional hub for technology and innovation, Al-Swaha said Saudi Arabia aimed to train more than 600 women in the Middle East and North Africa region through its collaboration with the Apple Developer Academy. And he noted the country’s efforts to bridge the digital gap and enhance green energy projects in NEOM, a megacity in the Kingdom’s northwest.
