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Saudi Arabia
Tech

Exclusive | Saudi Arabia to deepen ties with Hong Kong, using city as the bridge to mainland China’s ‘world class’ digital prowess, minister says

  • Areas of collaboration include fintech, tech entrepreneurship and strategies to attract the funding of venture capitalists (VC)
  • Health sciences and biotechnology, the environment, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and smart cities are other areas for partnerships

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Abdullah Al-Swaha, Saudi Arabia’s minister of communications and information technology at the “One Gateway Shared Vision - Hong Kong x Saudi Arabia” event on July 2, 2023. Photo: Sam Tsang
Dylan Butts

Saudi Arabia plans to deepen its collaboration with Hong Kong, using the city as the bridge to mainland China to spur its transformation under the Vision 2030 economic plan, said the minister in charge of the kingdom’s digital infrastructure.

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Key areas of collaboration with Hong Kong include fintech, technological entrepreneurship and strategies to attract the funding of venture capitalists (VC), said the Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha.
Health sciences and biotechnology, the environment, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) – specifically generative AI – and smart cities are other areas that the kingdom is keen to strike partnerships on, he said.

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Saudi Arabia to deepen ties with Hong Kong, use city as bridge to China’s tech prowess: minister

Saudi Arabia to deepen ties with Hong Kong, use city as bridge to China’s tech prowess: minister

“[Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia] are going through very promising transformations, where both economies are financial hubs in their own regions,” Al-Swaha said during an interview with the Post. “We have an opportunity to build an innovation bridge, to leapfrog into the future with an innovation-based economy.”

The minister since 2017, Al-Swaha picked Hong Kong as the starting point of his whirlwind tour through China, where the digital transformation and proliferation of information and communications technology (ICT) have impressed him.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communication, Information and Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha (left) and Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (right) met ahead of the “One Gateway Shared Vision - Hong Kong x Saudi Arabia” event at Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP) in Shatin on July 2, 2023. Photo: Handout
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communication, Information and Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha (left) and Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (right) met ahead of the “One Gateway Shared Vision - Hong Kong x Saudi Arabia” event at Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP) in Shatin on July 2, 2023. Photo: Handout
ICT development requires a robust digital infrastructure, such as a 5G network, which Saudi Arabia has been keen to source from Chinese companies, even if Huawei Technologies and ZTE are targets of United States sanctions amid deteriorating US-China relations.
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Saudi Arabia is “pro-partnership and pro-openness”, willing to do business with “any partner that can comply with our security and regulatory requirements”, said the minister, the former CEO of Cisco Saudi Arabia before joining the public sector. He is expected to visit Huawei in Shenzhen, after Hong Kong.

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