RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, June 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — His Excellency Dr. Esam A. Alwagait, Director General of National Information Center at the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority – SDAIA, received Ms. Christine Zhenwei Qiang, Director of the Digital Development Global Practice at the World Bank today at SDAIA headquarters in Riyadh, and her accompanying delegation, in the presence of several officials from SDAIA.

His Excellency discussed with the Director of the World Bank’s Digital Development Global Practice the Kingdom’s role in the Digital Development Partnership (DDP) that aims to enable growth and prosperity in developing countries. In addition, the two parties discussed SDAIA’s efforts in the DDP Partnership Council, the Kingdom’s experience and competitive gains at the international level, and the DDP 2.0 strategy, which includes several areas and priorities for digital development policies in developing countries. Last year, the Kingdom, represented by SDAIA, joined the multi-donor trust fund, which is administered by the World Bank, as a partner.

During the visit, SDAIA organized a meeting in the presence of several government entities’ representatives, including the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the Saudi Fund for Development, as well as representatives of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission, the National Cybersecurity Authority, the Digital Government Authority, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the Public Investment Fund, represented by SCAI and Elm.

During the meeting, participants discussed the leading practices in the Kingdom in digital development, the Kingdom’s policies in this area, and the effective role the Kingdom plays in promoting digital development policies at the international level in addition to aligning and supporting efforts related to digital development in developing countries.