Saudi Arabia will launch some of the region’s largest technology initiatives for programmers and entrepreneurs next week as it looks to broaden its digital economic base.
The kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will present the technology initiatives at a ceremony it is hosting next Wednesday, according to a state-run Saudi Press Agency report.
The Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming and Drones will also join the ministry’s initiative, along with several local public and private entities, as well as international companies.
Participants will be able to “seize opportunities of the digital economy and serve the technology communities in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa region”, the ministry said.
Saudi Arabia, Opec’s top oil exporter, is trying to develop its technology sector and boost its digital economy. The kingdom regards digital transformation to be among the central pillars of its Vision 2030 agenda that aims to cut its dependence on oil.
The kingdom is investing heavily in big projects such as the $500-billion futuristic city, Neom. It is also building the Red Sea, Qidiya and Waad Al Shamal developments, which are all tech-first projects with smart city infrastructure.
Riyadh has boosted spending on the digitisation of government services and has opened up its technology sector to foreign investors as part of its economic diversification agenda.
The country's communications ministry said the initiatives being unveiled next week will “contribute to strengthening the kingdom's role as a regional technology hub embracing innovators, programmers and entrepreneurs from various technology sectors”.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, is competing with other regional technology centres such as the UAE, which offers long-term visas to technology entrepreneurs and professionals from around the globe.
The UAE recently signed a deal with a host of technology companies such as Google and Amazon to train 100,000 programmers and coders within the next five years and create 1,000 digital companies to boost its economy.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
