RIYADH: Saudi Arabia plans to create a globally competitive industrial sector by converting 4,000 factories to use fourth industrial revolution technology, 4IR.

The sector’s new strategy will focus on increasing locally sourced inputs, as well as adopting 4IR technologies, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef told a conference to launch military manpower development strategy in Riyadh.

The 4th Industrial Revolution largely involves four specific technologies: high-speed mobile Internet, AI and automation, the use of big data analytics, and cloud technology.

An Industrial Fund will also be established, with a clear program to help investors in the sector to shift toward 4IR technologies with the help of soft loans, Alkhorayef added.

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, MODON, is also working to convert 100 factories to be models that others can emulate.

New technologies are the biggest supporter of transforming the sector into a local workforce, he added, during the launch of the manpower strategy by The General Authority for Military Industries, GAMI.

“The privileges that exist today were present in the past, whether in terms of infrastructure, financing or others, but the difference today is that these privileges have been activated through the enactment of the necessary legislation,” he said.

The Kingdom’s industrial strategy aims to shift from dependency on cheap laborers to a focus on quality jobs.

“Our role is to ensure the existence of job opportunities that match capabilities. And also to work on raising human capabilities to suit future needs,” he said.