The Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Engineer Abdullah Al-Sawaha, affirmed that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are facing a historic opportunity to enhance digital integration and partnership in artificial intelligence, based on more than four decades of joint cooperation that established a successful Gulf model for development, stability, and prosperity.

This came during Al-Sawaha’s participation in the 29th meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Post and Communications of the GCC countries, where he explained that the Gulf economy has quadrupled over the past decades to reach about $2.3 trillion, noting that the GCC countries today represent 2% of the global economy and half of the Arab region’s economy.

He added that Saudi Arabia, under the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and led by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, is confidently moving towards building and exporting technology, knowledge, and innovation through an integrated system considered the largest in the region.

Al-Sawaha pointed out that the National Program for Information Technology Development (NTDP) has enabled more than 1,000 Gulf entrepreneurial companies and contributed to graduating eight Saudi billion-dollar companies, alongside the “Garage” platform, which is the largest innovation incubator in the region, and the LEAP conference, which has become the largest global tech gathering bringing together entrepreneurs from the Gulf and the world.

He also highlighted the role of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), which was launched from Riyadh and has become today the largest international organization specialized in the digital economy and artificial intelligence, explaining that it leads a global alliance that enhances cross-border cooperation and opens new horizons for building a unified and influential digital economy.