RIYADH — Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Alswaha announced that the Freedom of Information Law, which aims to enable creativity and innovation while preserving sovereignty and confidentiality, will be announced in the near future. Addressing a government press conference, organized by the Ministry of Media in Riyadh on Sunday, the minister said that the Saudi digital economy has grown by more than 75 percent since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030, reaching 522 billion and the number of jobs in the digital sector has risen to 410,000. Alswaha said that the LEAP 2026 Conference, with the support of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, has become the largest technological movement of the 21st century. The fifth annual global technology event, with the theme "Into New Worlds" will be kicked off at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Malham, on Monday. The four-day event would feature around 2,000 participating global tech brands, 1,000 speakers, and hundreds of startups. It will showcase artificial intelligence, smart infrastructure, logistics tech, and digital government services. Alswaha said that the Kingdom has emerged as a global leader in digital competitiveness and spectrum liberalization. “The National Technology Development Program has supported more than 1,500 entrepreneurs and 5,000 companies, including nine billion-riyal companies,” he said. The minister noted that more than 3,000 servers have been exported from the Kingdom to neighboring countries, in addition to the presence of more than 80 technical schools across the Kingdom and the training of approximately 30,000 talented individuals in the field of artificial intelligence. Alswaha stated that the overall communications gap in the Kingdom has declined from 50 percent to one percent, while the gap in services has fallen to 5 percent over the past 10 years. He said that the number of complaints has decreased by 15 percent. According to the minister, fiber optic penetration in the Kingdom has reached 32 percent, with 5.8 million homes covered. However, subscription rates remain below expectations, he said while urging families to subscribe to enhance their children's opportunities for success and leadership. “Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in data centers, which constitute its primary market in artificial intelligence, accounting for up to 60 percent of its total investments. Approximately 60 percent of technological investments are directed toward these centers, and more than 80 square kilometers have been allocated for them,” he said.Alswaha noted that Saudi Arabia has the capacity to reach 3 billion customers in the artificial intelligence sector from within its borders and to serve one billion customers in the primary market. He affirmed that the Kingdom is on track to become the primary energy provider for data centers. He stated that 5G coverage in Al-Baha currently stands at 49 percent and will reach 64 percent by 2028, with 50,000 homes in the region connected to fiber optics. He also noted that the Salla platform represents a national success story valued at SR36 billion, contributing to the creation of 100,000 jobs and enabling 120,000 online stores. The launch of mega-projects will be announced during LEAP 26 in partnership with Amazon, NVIDIA, and several other global companies, along with the launch of Microsoft's Azure cloud platform at the inaugural day of the conference on Monday.Alswaha stated that the Kingdom has become the world's leading nation in digital readiness for 2025 and 2026, moving from a lower global ranking to first place in digital preparedness and organization. He emphasized the Kingdom’s transformation into a technology exporter rather than an importer.The minister affirmed that the Kingdom is rising to the top global ranking in the application of data and artificial intelligence across both the public and private sectors and is striving to become the largest magnet for innovators and investors in this field. He noted that the Kingdom is continuing its leadership and pioneering role, achieving significant leaps forward in artificial intelligence.
