RIYADH, 27 November 2002 — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, has instructed the Saudi Computer Society to formulate a national information technology plan as part of a strategy to develop the IT sector.
This was disclosed to Arab News by Dr. Khaled Al-Ghonaim, chairman of the Saudi Computer Society, who said all research studies on the plan would be conducted from the new building for the national project which was inaugurated recently. He said a secretarial council has been set up to identify the most suitable mechanism for implementing the project.
According to Dr. Al-Ghonaim and Dr. Khaled Al-Sabti, project manager, the major objectives of the national IT plan are to support the national economy by establishing and empowering the IT industry and stimulating activities such as e-commerce and distance work. Other goals are to promote a national IT culture through projects of e-education, e-government and distance medicine; educate and train national individuals in IT fields; protect Arabic and Islamic culture in the digital world; raise productivity and efficiency in the most cost-effective manner and support the national security through judicious investment in the IT sector.
Dr. Al-Ghonaim said the researchers have studied the current status of each of the plan’s sectors. In this context, Dr. Khaled Al- Sabti declared that a five-year national plan for the IT sector would be formulated by the end of next year.
