Saudi communications minister meets with international leaders to advance Saudi role in AI
Saudi communications minister meets with international leaders to advance Saudi role in AI/node/2607671/saudi-arabia
Saudi communications minister meets with international leaders to advance Saudi role in AI
Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi minister of communications and IT, meeting with Doreen Bogdan-Martin, secretary general of the UN International Telecommunication Union. (SPA)
Saudi communications minister meets with international leaders to advance Saudi role in AI
Updated 10 July 2025
Arab News
GENEVA: Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha held a series of high-level meetings during his official visit to Switzerland, aimed at strengthening the Kingdom’s global role in promoting inclusivity in the era of artificial intelligence, innovation, and digital economy development.
The minister met with UN International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The two discussed the Kingdom’s longstanding partnership with the union spanning more than 76 years.
The minister also met with Algerian Minister of Post and Telecommunications Sid Ali Zerrouki, to expand partnership opportunities in the areas of digital governance, AI, and digital infrastructure.
Saudi Hajj Ministry suspends Umrah firm, overseas agent over contract violations
Company failed to provide accommodation for a number of Umrah pilgrims, despite these services being documented in the contractual programs, ministry says
Updated 29 December 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Sunday announced the suspension of an Umrah company and its overseas agent for failing to provide accommodation services for pilgrims in line with approved contractual programs.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the ministry said the company’s failure constitutes a clear violation of regulations governing services for Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the Two Holy Mosques.
It noted that a number of pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom without secured accommodation, despite these services being documented in the contractual programs.
This prompted immediate regulatory action against the company and its overseas agent under the established legal frameworks, the ministry said.
Pilgrims circumambulate the Holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Makkah in this photo taken earlier this month. (SPA)
"The measures are intended to safeguard the rights of affected pilgrims, prevent a recurrence of such violations, and ensure the continued enhancement of service quality," it added.
Last June, the ministry suspended seven Umrah companies due to deficiencies in providing transport services to pilgrims.
In an earlier report quoting the Hajj Ministry and the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, SPA said more than 1.7 million Muslims from all over the world arrived in the Kingdom to perform Umrah during Jumada Al Akhira alone.
Also referred to as Jumada Al Thani, Jumada Al Akhira is the sixth month of the Islamic calendar. For Hijri year 1447, this sixth month ended on December 20, 2025 in the Gregorian calendar.
