General

LONDON - Since his election in 2016, U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear agreement signed in 2015 by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and imposed tough sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy. How might the relationship between Washington and Tehran change after the U.S. election on November 3? 2020 began with the United States and Iran on the verge of war. The U.S. targeted killing of revered Iranian General Qassem Soleimani January 3 - whom Washington accused of masterminding numerous attacks in the region - sparked fury in Tehran. It retaliated with missile strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq. No U.S. service personnel were killed and conflict was averted, but Trump kept up the pressure. “The United States will immediately impose additional punishin...

Riyadh, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recently hosted a consultative roundtable to discuss the establishment of a UN-proposed advisory body tasked to lead all artificial intelligence efforts. The meeting, which was held in a consultative capacity, was part of the Global AI Summit’s agenda in Riyadh. It involved preliminary discussions on the feasibility of forming a consultation body for the United Nations to promote the use of reliable, safe, and sustainable artificial intelligence technologies, in a way that supports human rights and achieves peace and prosperity. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a contributing member in these discussions that will feature an advisory phase prior to the proposed formation of the UN body. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, h...

Riyadh, The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and Alibaba Cloud have announced an MoU to partner on driving KSA Smart Cities Innovation through Artificial Intelligence and empowering Saudi cities with intelligence-driven smart city solutions. The partnership will support Saudi Arabia’s journey to develop world-class smart cities. It will focus on Driving KSA Smart Cities Innovation through Artificial Intelligence by empowering KSA cities to effectively and efficiently respond to the citizens needs while improving the quality of life, and to transform KSA to become more socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. It will also utilize data and AI to make the cities smarter while improving their safety and security. SDAIA and Alibaba Cloud will be working collaboratively to d...

Riyadh, The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to support global cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence. The MoU will also see the development of an internationally-recognized system for countries to mobilize resources, providing assistance for official agencies that want to adopt AI technologies, and accreditation to meet economic requirements. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by His Excellency Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, President of the Saudi Data & AI Authority, and Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, during the landmark “Global AI Summit” held on October 21-22, 2020. The summit is organized by SDAIA and is held un...

Riyadh, Attorney general of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Saud bin Abdullah Al-Mejeb underscored the importance of finding solutions to narrow chances of joint investigations among the world countries as regards trans-border corruption cases. Addressing the first ministerial meeting of the corruption combating engagement group of the G20 which was held in the attendance of a number of anti-corruption agencies of the G20, Al-Mejeb said that the informal cooperation between law enforcement and investigation and criminal prosecution agencies is still below the internationally-targeted level amid the presence of more than 100 countries of the world who don't participate in any international platform dealing with informal cooperation in this matter. He underscored the importance of volun...

Damascus, The People’s Assembly on Thursday discussed the work and current and future plans of Local Administration and Environment Ministry. The discussion was made during the Assembly’s 10th session of the 1st ordinary round for the 3rd legislative term, chaired by Speaker Hammoudah Sabbagh. Local Administration and Environment Minister Hussein Makhlouf explained his ministry’s work plan and reaffirmed that 11 new artisanal zones were established in Tartous, Quneitra, Homs and Hama provinces at a cost of SYP 13 billion. He revealed that 1,100 vehicles were imported, of which 708 for the cleaning sector, as some 200 buses were also imported as a donation from China. The Minister pointed out that about 5 million displaced people returned to their liberated villages after rehabi...

Riyadh, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region, received at his office in Riyadh today the Ambassador of the European Union to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Patrick Simonnet. During the meeting, they discussed issues of mutual interest.   Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia today revealed its new National Strategy for Data & AI (NSDAI) which will make the country a global leader in Artificial Intelligence. The National Strategy for Data & AI (NSDAI), which will be led by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), was officially launched today at the Global AI Summit in Riyadh. SDAIA President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH the Crown Prince, commending the leadership's keenness on supporting this pivotal sector. Dr. Alghamdi said that the National Strategy for Data and AI will (NSDAI) encompass six main dimensions that have been identified as essential to develop Saudi Arabia's national capacity in AI. The six key areas are: - Ambition: Saudi Ar...

Riyadh, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud affirmed that the Saudi G20 Presidency has accorded special attention to discussing policies related to women, through engagement groups and various ministerial meetings, and to ensure the participation of women in decision-making by sharing recommendations of the Women 20 Engagement Group (W20) in the G20 meetings. This came in the speech of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, which was delivered on his behalf by the Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi at the conclusion of W20. The speech reads as follows: "Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the Women 20 Engagement Group (W20), Distinguished Guests, Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you, On behalf of the Leadership and Peopl...

Riyadh, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, confirmed that 2020 is an exceptional year to test the potential of artificial intelligence at a time when a new global status is being formed redefining lifestyles, business and learning. This came in a speech delivered on behalf of HRH the Crown Prince by Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, President of Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA), during the Global AI Summit under the title, “AI for the Good of Humanity". The following is the text of the speech: "Your Excellencies Ladies and gentlemen Peace be upon you Welcome to the first edition of the Global AI Summit Welcome from Riyadh, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ... Where we s...