Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has been ranked higher than the US, France, and Italy in a global digital regulatory environment list produced by the International Telecommunication Union.  

The Kingdom has been recognized for its ability to keep pace with contemporary developments and has even achieved a higher ranking than China, Japan, and Russia.  

This announcement aligns with Saudi Arabia’s endeavors to meet the goals of the Vision 2030 initiative, which focuses on creating an appealing and motivating regulatory environment for different sectors.    

Those goals also revolve around promoting digital economy investment and harmonizing among regulators on common topics to further elevate the digital regulatory environment across several major industries.

With the Information and Communications Technology market size reaching SR154 billion ($41.05 billion) in 2022, the country’s digital economy is expected to grow.

Additionally, it is anticipated to spur competition, magnetize investments in the sector, and stimulate Saudi Arabia’s role in the ITU.

Moreover, this achievement highlights the collaborative efforts led by the Communications, Space and Technology Commission in conjunction with several ministries and authorities, including the National Regulatory Committee, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Health, among others.

According to the CST, in addition to regulation and stakeholders’ involvement, the Kingdom’s leading position is also attributed to the launch of the Digital Regulatory Academy.

It is also linked to regulatory innovation, international leadership, and cutting-edge digital infrastructures.

These milestones collectively reflect the evolution and progress of the region’s telecom sector over the past four years.

Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation has skyrocketed in recent years, with the Kingdom digitalizing over 6,000 government services, representing 97 percent of total government services.  

According to the National Transformation Program’s 2022 report, the region was ranked first regionally and third globally in the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index 2022.

Since 2006, Saudi Arabia has had an established procedure for digitization called the National Strategy for Digital Transformation.

The action plan was structured into three phases. It is currently in its final stage, the Smart Government Strategy, which aims to create a new seamless government experience for beneficiaries by 2024.