As the region adjusts to a future less reliant on oil revenues, it has become an irrefutable fact that socio-economic growth and technological innovations are inextricably linked.

It is on the basis of this premise that Deputy Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Salman outlined last month his vision for Saudi Arabia of the future — that of 2030.

Saudi Arabia’s new Vision 2030 represents the springboard from which the leadership will enact its progressive and ambitious plan for the country over the coming decades and reflects a long-term drive for economic reform, diversification and the eventual transition of the country into a knowledge-based economy.

The reforms form part of a larger, collaborative plan which gives more weight to the private sector by setting the foundations for an environment conducive to attracting the right talent and investments into the country.

Such foundations cannot materialize without the existence of a solid ICT system to support it.

ICT advances are in that sense, not only a catalyst to socio-economic growth but in our digital era, they are a pre-requisite.

An educated workforce, efficient public governance and administration, thriving, innovative and competitive industries — indicators of a prosperous economy — all require sound ICT systems in order to run efficiently and eventually, grow.

ICT is therefore required for literally every business segment of an economy — from oil and gas to education and health care to transportation.

With the right ICT infrastructure in place, the real opportunity lies within these vertical sectors and how they can leverage this new architecture to operate more efficiently and intelligently in our digital era.

Saudi Arabia is proving that it is more than capable of driving such an agenda forward and has already embarked on the road to smart, digital transformation.

This is evidenced by results from Huawei’s 2016 Global Connectivity Index (GCI) and Rankings, which measures how 50 nations are progressing with digital transformation using ICT.

Saudi Arabia was among the top developing countries and one of only three Middle Eastern countries classified as an “adopter” of the digital economy.

Adopter nations see the biggest GDP growth from driving connectivity and their focus is on increasing ICT demand to facilitate industry digitization and high-quality economic growth.

The 2016 GCI found that the digital economy requires balanced development in supply, demand, experience, and potential.

The main investment target of all nations was found to be broadband.

The GCI2016 GCI also shows that 20% growth in ICT investment will increase a country’s GDP by 1 percent.

It identifies five enablers of digital transformation — data centers, cloud services, Big Data, broadband, and the Internet of Things.

These technologies represent the targets that stakeholders should focus their investments on in order to most efficiently transform their economies for the digital age.

While everyone instinctively knows that technology is good, investment in ICT is invisible — it isn’t as obvious as police on the streets, a new school, or more nurses but it can certainly help drive up GDP per capita — the pulse of economic health. Investing in those five core ICT tech enablers — especially broadband — lays a muscular infrastructure for digital transformation and long-term economic health, competiveness, innovation, and productivity.

There are no shortcuts on the journey to digital transformation. And it is clear that Saudi Arabia understands the ICT imperative and has committed, in its 2030 Vision, to addressing its infrastructure challenges by enlisting the support of the private sector and ramping up its efforts to move toward a more open digital ecosystem.

As one of the leading lights in Saudi Arabia’s technology sector, Huawei can certainly attest to the government’s efforts as one of a small number of private companies joining forces to build the foundations for a sound digital and technological infrastructure in Saudi.

As we journey toward 2030, Huawei is constantly identifying ways to use its technology to fulfill the Vision. Ways in which Saudi city planners for instance, can use ICT to enhance performance of public systems and promote overall wellbeing and happiness.

This involves reducing costs and resource consumption at an organizational level as well as helping citizens engage more effectively with city services.

Another example of our commitment to developing Saudi’s ICT infrastructure can be found in Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia Co. Ltd, it is one of Huawei’s biggest subsidiaries globally and the leading ICT solutions provider in Saudi Arabia.

The company has made three strategic commitments to the country: eliminate the digital divide and promote ICT development, be a trustworthy corporate citizen in Saudi Arabia, and to be a well-respected company among locals.

Elsewhere on the telecommunications front, and through joint collaborations with Saudi operators, Huawei is able to provide high-quality telecommunication services to more than 70 percent of the population, or over 20 million people.

According to third-party statistics, from 2008 to 2014, the number of mobile users in Saudi increased from 36 million to 51 million, broadband coverage soared from 9.7 to 70.4 percent, and the country moved up three places to number 24 in the global ICT Development Index (IDI) rankings.

Today, Huawei continues to provide solutions and services to multiple Saudi industries such as health care, education, finance, transportation, and energy, to name a few, standardizing more components of ICT infrastructure — particularly in the IoT era — to help foster the developments necessary for the ICT industry and all sectors of the economy that rely on it, to thrive.

Smart government services is another important consideration and one where Huawei has done exceptionally well in the region.

Smarter government infrastructure can create a better world for the people of the Kingdom and Huawei intends to support in its building.

In fact, smart cities are already proving their value and across the Gulf region in particular, governments have placed great emphasis and resources on ICT initiatives that improve the interaction between citizens, business, cities and governments. Saudi Arabia is definitely in a position to achieve good results on this front.

Strong ICT-related policies and adoption are vital to ensuring a more dynamic and competitive future for Saudi Arabia.

However some of the changes in the ICT makeup of the country do not require any additional spending on the part of the government but rather reforms based on collaborations, such as those laid out in Vision 2030; collaborations that give way to innovative public-private partnerships, human capital development, digital infrastructure expansion.

These are the types of reforms that will allow ICT to become ‘the great enabler’ it can be.

From better connected hospitals and transport systems to providing high-speed mobile broadband for the Internet of Things era, there is ample proof around the world today that innovations in ICT fuel economic growth.

If harnessed properly, these innovations can propel a country into the top echelons of success and pave the way for prosperity for every element of society.

Judging from the ambitious plan laid out in the Saudi Vision 2030, I am certain that Saudi Arabia will prove to be a shining example of this theory; and Huawei intends to be there to support it throughout its journey.

— Ramadan Ding is CEO of Huawei KSA