Oracle to invest $1.5bn in Saudi Arabia, plans cloud region in Riyadh 

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Updated 06 February 2023
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Oracle to invest $1.5bn in Saudi Arabia, plans cloud region in Riyadh 

Oracle to invest $1.5bn in Saudi Arabia, plans cloud region in Riyadh 
  • The Kingdom is a very high priority for Oracle, says top official

RIYADH: Aiming to meet the growing demand for its cloud services, Oracle plans to open a third public cloud region in Saudi Arabia, the company’s senior vice president, technology cloud, Middle East and Africa, told Arab News in an exclusive interview. 

“Saudi Arabia is a very high priority for Oracle right now,” said Nick Redshaw. “We’re seeing unprecedented growth in the region, which is tremendous and LEAP 2023 will reiterate our commitment to that unprecedented growth with what we think are unprecedented investments and expansion and innovation into the Kingdom and the region.” 

Oracle unveiled its expansion plans at LEAP 2023 International Technology Conference, which is taking place in Riyadh from Feb. 6-9.

Redshaw added: “Oracle is going to invest $1.5 billion in Saudi Arabia to meet the unprecedented acceleration of cloud computing and demand that we’re seeing in the Kingdom. We are also going to expand our first (public cloud) region in the Kingdom, which is in Jeddah, to provide incremental capacity to service the current demand. 

“In addition, we are opening a new public cloud region in Riyadh.”

The opening of the new region in the Saudi capital will “take our total to six across the Middle East and three regions in the Kingdom,” the official said. 

He said the Riyadh region will primarily service the expanding requirements of the Kingdom’s eastern region and Oracle’s government clients who are predominantly based in Riyadh. 

The cloud region in Riyadh will join the existing regions in Jeddah and the futuristic city of NEOM. 

This investment was earlier included in a memorandum of understanding that was signed during Oracle CEO Safra Catz’s recent visit to Riyadh in the presence of Haytham Al-Ohali, vice minister at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. 

“The aim here is to help the government and businesses take advantage of all the latest innovation in the cloud and digital transformation that we can deliver,” said Redshaw. 

As part of the MoU, Oracle will work with MCIT and the Communications and Information Technology Commission to establish a commercial and operational model for an additional cloud region in Saudi Arabia that is aligned with the Saudi government’s requirements and local data residency regulations. 

Meeting unprecedented demand 

“We’re seeing an unprecedented rise in cloud computing across the whole region, particularly in Saudi Arabia,” said Redshaw. 

Indeed, according to IDC — a global provider of market intelligence — public cloud spending in Saudi Arabia will increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 26.8 percent over the coming years to reach $3.1 billion in 2026, spurred by organizations looking to leverage the power of the cloud to modernize their critical business applications and become cloud native. 

Redshaw continued: “I anticipate it to grow even more rapidly over the next few years.” 

With regard to the rise of cloud adoption, he said, it’s all about organizations wanting to transform. 

“Cloud adoption is making them more cost-efficient, more secure, more agile, more flexible as businesses as they capitalize on cloud,” he explained. “You’ve got the Kingdom’s demand going up, cloud transformation going up, and then really innovating as businesses on top of that to take advantage of it.” 

Creating job opportunities 

Asked how the new initiatives are likely to impact the job market, Redshaw explained, that since the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 is continuing at a fast pace, it is enabling businesses to transition to the new digital environment and take advantage of technology to drive business outcomes and innovation. 

“Whether it’s Jeddah or Riyadh, what we’re doing is providing the capability to take advantage of that demand which is very strong,” he said. 

Redshaw went on to list a couple of measures that Oracle is taking within the Kingdom to foster and promote talent.

“One is around skills enablement and building capability, both in businesses, in engineering, in startups,” he said. “We have a number of programs running where we bring in young individuals, train them, educate them, and then they can go back into the broader technology market and take advantage of that innovation.” 

He also mentioned the Oracle Academy where educators from around the globe work with institutions in the Kingdom to build learning programs.  

“In addition, we have innovation hubs we’ve built — in Riyadh and the UAE as well,” he continued. “This is where people can meet. We put experts in there. They can brainstorm, train and figure out how to take advantage of all the technology.” 


Read More: Oracle opens Riyadh tech hub





Oracle headquarters campus in Silicon Valley, Redwood City, CA, USA. (Shutterstock)

Focus on sustainability 

Underscoring its ongoing focus on sustainability, Oracle is committed to powering all its cloud regions worldwide with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025. 

Several Oracle cloud regions, including regions in the North and South Americas, and all 10 regions in Europe, are already powered by 100 percent renewable energy, which enables customers to run their computing services more sustainably and with a lower carbon footprint. 

To further advance its commitment to sustainable operations, Oracle recycled 99.9 percent of its retired hardware in 2022. 

“We’re very proud of the sustainability plan that we have and everything we roll out, we roll out consistently worldwide, including Saudi Arabia,” informed Redshaw. 

He added: “We stand committed to our goal of achieving 100 percent renewable energy in all the next-generation cloud regions by 2025 and that would include Riyadh, Jeddah, and all the ones we are bringing on board in the region. We also do a lot around the hardware recycling, so that’s our continued effort to reduce e-waste.” 

“We also decreased the amount of waste sent to landfill in Oracle-owned buildings by 25 percent per square foot since 2015,” Redshaw continued. “In addition, we do a lot of work around responsible sourcing and by 2025 the aim is that 100 percent of our key suppliers will also have an environmental program in place.” 

Not surprisingly, according to him, Oracle is well on its way to achieving its aim of net-zero emissions by 2050. 

Redshaw concluded by saying that they apparently found that 95 percent of businesses believe they make more progress toward sustainability and social goals with the help of artificial intelligence. 

“When you look at technological capability and how people take advantage of it and innovate, there’s a lot you can do with data and AI to actually make your business more sustainable as well,” he said. 
 


Day 5 of COP28: Saudi Green Initiative Forum begins

Day 5 of COP28: Saudi Green Initiative Forum begins
Updated 2 min 56 sec ago
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Day 5 of COP28: Saudi Green Initiative Forum begins

Day 5 of COP28: Saudi Green Initiative Forum begins
  • The 3rd edition of the forum will discuss critical sustainability, primarily energy transition, protecting the seas, and unlocking climate finance

DUBAI: The Saudi Green Initiative Forum (SGI Forum) kicked off on Monday as COP28 continues to mobilize world leaders towards serious action against climate change.

Held under the slogan “From Ambition to Action”, the 3rd edition of the forum will discuss critical sustainability, primarily energy transition, protecting the seas, and unlocking climate finance to enable climate action at the UN climate Summit.

READ MORE: Click here for our coverage of COP28

----

8:45 GMT

Adel Aljubeir, Saudi Minister of State and Envoy for Climate

“I believe we can work in terms of carbon capture and sequestration. I believe we can do a lot in terms of how we manage our lives and how we live, how we design our cities to reduce commuting time and to reduce pollution.”

“I believe our approach has to be comprehensive, not just in specific areas, there is room for reducing waste.”

“There is room for increasing efficiencies there is room for planting trees. There is room for combating desertification, there is room for combating plastics, there is room for carbon capture and sequestration.”

“I would say that the approach that we have used in Saudi Arabia is a whole of government all of society approach we don't believe that you can segment different areas we have to work, so to speak on all cylinders.”

“I believe that there's a need to provide resources to countries that have a lack of resources, and also providing them with expertise.”

“I believe we have the financial resources, I believe we're developing the political will in order to put in place ambitious policies and ambitious pathways towards achieving the objectives that we all aspire towards.”

“We have launched more than 80 programs and committed almost $200 billion, 186 to be precise on programs this far. We will continue to see what else we can do.”

8:00 GMT

Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme

- “I want to celebrate the fact that Saudi Arabia put it on the G7 agenda. Desertification and land degradation is an issue that is affecting millions of people and billions of hectares of land.”

- “It is a real issue and we have to also accept that we need land to have agriculture to have urbanization etc. So how are we going to ensure that our lands are as fertile as possible.”

“The Middle East green initiative that is also Saudi-led is something to celebrate. There are resources, obviously, from the GCF, the Green Climate Fund, etc. But these are small resources, the bigger resources will come from communities themselves.”

07:48 GMT

Dr. Khaled Alabulqader, CEO, National Center For Vegetation Cover Development And Combating Desertification, said Saudi Arabia is taking climate change “very importantly and seriously”.

“The Kingdom has taken big initiatives in the world stage and the local stage and on the regional stage.”

“We have done a very good job in the Kingdom in the last few years, where we reduced the [climate] impacts, especially in the coastal areas, vegetation cover and the rangelands. And now we have a policy to also manage the grazelands where we can convert to organized grazing practices with some incentives given to the local community and people.”

“We encourage the development of NGOs. NGOs are really increasing in numbers in the kingdom. For example, when we started the initiative for a plantation in the Kingdom, in the last two years, we have reached to a number 150,000 volunteers.”

“Land degradation is responsible for the 40 percent of global emissions.”
“We just finished the study and the roadmap for the Kingdom to take on the initiative of planting 10 billion trees from 2024 to 2100.”

07:34 GMT

Jukka Petteri Taalas, Secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, said this year would be the warmest year on record, and we have also broken records of main greenhouse gas concentrations of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.

Taalas added that sea level rise is affecting this part of the world. “We are seeing more weather extremes, more droughts. This part of the world is very sensitive, people are facing more risks in this part of the world.”

“We know that the biggest problem with climate mitigation is consumption of fossil fuels. That’s two thirds of the problem. Then about 20 percent of the problems related to release of methane, especially from tropical wetlands, from rice paddies and from cattle. And about 10 percent of the problem that we have having in climate is related to deforestation, especially deforestation of the tropical rain forests in Africa, and sub parts of Southern Asia.”

“And we should stop this deforestation and instead, plant more trees is a way to absorb carbon dioxide from the from the atmosphere.”

“Then there’s a second challenge that we are having. It’s the fact that we have started seeing growing amount of dust and sand storms also in your parts of the world and these tree plantation to be one positive act against this growing amount of sand and dust storms. And this as you all know, sand and dust storms are having negative impacts on human health.”

 

7:00 GMT

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman

During his opening speech, the Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the Kingdom will work with international partners to develop tech-based initiatives to advance the implementation of effective climate action.

He said the Kingdom’s concrete action on implementing renewables are reflected by its ability to quadruple its capacity from 700 megawatts last year to two gigawatt with more than eight gigawatts of renewable under construction and around 13 gigawatts in various development stages.

“We are also planning to tender an additional 20 gigawatt by 2024 as part of our commitment to accelerate the development to renewable energy project.”

The Kingdom, the minister said, aims to become a key exporter of green hydrogen.

The NEOM green hydrogen project, he said, has successfully completed its initial phase securing investments of about $8.5 billion to produce 1.2 million tonnes per annum.

The forum will highlight Saudi Arabia’s projects and initiatives to promote sustainability and mitigate climate action under SGI, which was launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2021.  

More than 80 initiatives are being implemented to contribute to achieving the SGI’s goals of the Saudi Green Initiative.

SGI Forum is an annual platform convening policy makers, thought leaders and climate experts from around the world to share insights, and discuss the best solutions to reach a more sustainable regional and global future.

It comes this year as the UN climate summit continues with key pledges from world leaders to mobilize efforts to combat the rising threats.

The annual United Nations Conference of the Parties, known as COP28, in the UAE featured about 150 presidents, prime ministers, royals and other leaders who are presenting their plans to cut heat-trapping emissions and mostly seek unity with other nations to avert climate catastrophe that seemed to draw closer than ever in 2023.


US pledges $3 billion for Green Climate Fund at COP28

US pledges $3 billion for Green Climate Fund at COP28
Updated 04 December 2023
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US pledges $3 billion for Green Climate Fund at COP28

US pledges $3 billion for Green Climate Fund at COP28
  • The fund, with more than $20 billion in pledges, is the largest international fund supporting climate action in developing countries

DUBAI: The United States has pledged $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund, Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday in Dubai at the UN COP28 climate summit.

The fund, with more than $20 billion in pledges, is the largest international fund dedicated to supporting climate action in developing countries.

The latest pledge, which Reuters was first to report, would be additional to another $2 billion previously delivered by the US.

Sources said the pledge was subject to the availability of funds. The politically divided U.S. Congress needs to authorize the funding.

Harris announced the pledge in her address to the summit.

"Today I am also proud to announce a new $3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund which helps developing countries invest in resilience, clean energy, and nature-based solutions,” she said.

The fund's facilitators said in October that the current second round of replenishments had brought in about $9.3 billion in pledges to fund projects in climate-vulnerable counties between 2024 and 2027.

Even so, pledges so far represent a fraction of roughly $250 billion that developing countries would need every year by 2030 just to adapt to a warmer world, according to the United Nations. In addition to supporting climate adaptation, the fund also finances projects to help countries shift to clean energy.

Harris, who was representing the US at COP28 in place of President Joe Biden, was part of a US delegation that also includes climate envoy John Kerry and dozens of senior administration officials and cabinet members.

“It was important for both the president and vice president to ensure that a leader from the United States was at COP,” an official said, adding that Harris wanted to “make sure we are telling the world the story of progress that we have made in the US.”


US stock rally could wobble if tensions spike after Red Sea attacks

US stock rally could wobble if tensions spike after Red Sea attacks
Updated 04 December 2023
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US stock rally could wobble if tensions spike after Red Sea attacks

US stock rally could wobble if tensions spike after Red Sea attacks
  • The developments risk inflaming fears that the Israel-Hamas war could widen into a broader conflict encompassing the US and regional players like Iran

NEW YORK: An attack on an American warship and commercial vessels in the Red Sea on Sunday risks reigniting investor worries about a widening of the war between Israel and Hamas, potentially complicating the outlook for a rally that saw US stocks crest a fresh closing high for the year last week.
The Pentagon said it was aware of reports regarding attacks on an American warship and commercial vessels in the Red Sea on Sunday, while Yemen’s Houthi group claimed drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area.
Also on Sunday, a US military official told Reuters the United States carried out a self-defense strike in Iraq against an “imminent threat” at a drone staging site.
The developments risk inflaming fears that the Israel-Hamas war could widen into a broader conflict encompassing the US and regional players like Iran. Such worries flared after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel but subsided in recent weeks.
Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, said a widening conflict could push some investors to take profits on the recent rally in stocks. The S&P 500 rose nearly 9 percent in November on signs of easing inflation and hopes the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates. The index is up almost 20 percent on the year after notching a 2023 closing high on Friday at 4594.63.
“The market is sensitive to any expansion of this conflict,” she said. “I think active managers in any event are more likely to lock in their gains if this is a harbinger of a deeper military conflict that involves the US.”
Past spikes in geopolitical tensions have made investors head for popular havens such as gold, Treasuries and the US dollar. Signs of an intensifying Middle East conflict could also boost oil prices, which have slumped in recent weeks.
Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Hermes, said rising tensions in the region could send West Texas Intermediate crude prices up to between $80 and $90 per barrel. Prices on Friday stood at $74.07.
The developments come as investors eye factors that could sway stocks in coming weeks. A US employment report due on Friday could bolster the case for those arguing that a cooling economy will keep the Fed from raising interest rates further and possibly loosen monetary policy sooner than expected.
Other potential catalysts include the Fed’s monetary policy meeting on Dec. 12-13, as well as seasonal factors such as tax-loss selling and the so-called Santa Claus rally.
Orlando said a spike in geopolitical tensions could drop the S&P 500 by “one or two hundred points.”
“There’s no question this represents an opportunity for investors to take profits,” he said. “However I’m still convinced the index ends the year at 4,600.”

 


Experts laud Saudi private sector’s efforts in advancing sustainable development

Experts laud Saudi private sector’s efforts in advancing sustainable development
Updated 03 December 2023
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Experts laud Saudi private sector’s efforts in advancing sustainable development

Experts laud Saudi private sector’s efforts in advancing sustainable development

DUBAI: Experts on Sunday highlighted the positive role the private sector is playing in advancing sustainable development in Saudi Arabia.

The progressive picture emerged through a series of panel discussions held at the Saudi Pavilion on the fourth day of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, currently underway in Dubai.

The talks examined diverse subjects, including carbon removal, corporate sustainability, and domestic market mechanisms. Speakers from government organizations, companies, and international organizations, as well as think tanks and consultancies, provided insights into the current situation. The talks extended beyond carbon emission goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement, delving into conversations surrounding Vision 2030 as set out by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

Private sector participation

As a core component of the Saudi Vision 2030 and a means by which to diversify the economy, Hajar Al-Gosair, sustainability head at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Economy and Planning, noted while speaking on a panel on corporate sustainability that environmental efforts within the Kingdom cannot be restricted to the public or governmental sector alone. 

Among the driving forces is a steering committee chaired by Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim, with the participation of over 20 entities from private and governmental bodies, she outlined. 

Al-Gosair cited key players such as the Capital Market Authority, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Investment, as well as private sector members, such as food company Al-Marai and renewable energy firm Desert Technologies, for their efforts in driving change. 

At the panel, officials from Al-Marai and Desert Technologies outlined the actions taken by their respective companies to cut carbon emissions. 

Saudi Aramco recently announced the launch of a $1.5 billion venture capital fund to invest in technology that will accelerate the net-zero initiative. “This is one of the things that one of the leading companies is doing,” Al-Gosair said. 

Experts emphasize that the shift toward achieving net zero is not exclusive to large corporations, especially as the Saudi government is keen to promote the growth of small and medium enterprises. Therefore, adopting sustainable practices and the accessibility of green finance must extend to SMEs, aligning with the broader goal of promoting environmental responsibility across diverse business sectors.

“It has to come down from the very big projects into the middle of the market and the SME sector. As you would know, Saudi has a very strong ambition to build the SME sector as part of its economy. So, complementing that will be SMEs that are building technologies or involved in the ecosystem around ESG-compliant lending. So yes, it’s very important. We have quadrupled our commitments to the SME sector in the last 12 months, and much of that will be in ESG-compliant lending or ESG-compliant products, asset management products, or deposit products.” Tony Cripps, CEO of the Saudi British Bank, told Arab News.

When discussing sectors of the economy where green finance has been or could be applied in the future, Cripps expressed optimism for its impact on emerging technology and green transportation. 

“Building green buildings is obviously important and our new head office is gold standard. But I think in the technology space is where it becomes very interesting. If you look at electric vehicles, if you look at battery storage, these are areas that will transform the environment … You’ve got technology providers from around the world looking to establish businesses in Saudi Arabia and build regional manufacturing infrastructure or even global manufacturing infrastructure around electric vehicles, around batteries. The data storage industry is exploding. So these are just some of the sectors that are very exciting,” Cripps said.

In her speech, Al-Gosair said that in early 2024, the Kingdom intends to launch sustainable development reporting standards for companies, making Saudi Arabia the first of the G20 countries to have a reporting standard aligned with international best practices.

A comprehensive approach

By framing the climate conversation as a silo, we cannot achieve anything, outlined Princess Nouf Al-Saud, CEO of the King Khalid Foundation, during her participation at the Saudi Green Initiative talks. 

It must instead be acknowledged as a comprehensive issue with socioeconomic, health, and developmental ramifications and thus addressed in a comprehensive manner that intersects business, philanthropy, and government, she said.

The CEO underscored that businesses must be the driving force for change within societies, adding that companies must consequently take responsibility for the communities they benefit from.

She said: “We need governments to be contributing, businesses to be contributing properly and taking responsibility for their communities or the communities that they benefit or extract from.”

The CEO added: “Especially in this year, we’re seeing business and philanthropy at COP, so bringing the two pillars of society that are very important, along with the third that is government. It’s very important because it is business that elevates people out of one economic strata.” 

Princess Nouf underscored that by 2030, there will be 38 million green jobs. Thus, the transition into the new economic model rooted in sustainability requires the integration of the youth in order to “re-skill” the workforce.

As it stands, green jobs are “very much tied with the megaprojects,” the CEO said, noting companies such as NEOM and Red Sea Global, which have been at the forefront of sustainability initiatives within the Kingdom.

Carbon capture & removal

In another session held at the Saudi Pavilion on Sunday, experts discussed the latest developments in the field of carbon capture, removal, and storage, which is being touted as one of the ways to get to net zero and mitigate the global temperature rise.

The executive director of the Oxford Net Zero Initiative and CO2RE Research Hub, Steve Smith, launched the discussions with a detailed status report on this sector, which has begun to attract interest from companies and governments. He said that though carbon capture has started to hit some traction, it is still minimal.

“The main problem we have that’s causing climate change at the moment is that we are emitting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. We’re putting about 40 billion tons per year into the atmosphere and that’s causing the global warming that we’re experiencing. But we’re actually doing a little bit of carbon dioxide removal. That’s taking it back out through our activities. We’re taking about 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year out of the atmosphere and that’s mainly through planting trees in certain parts of the world.” Smith told Arab News.

As the technologies are still being tested and tried, Smith says that of the various regions, the Middle East and, notably, the GCC nations may have an edge due to numerous factors.

“There’s a lot of work to be done actually to work out where the best places might be. But we can look at some general factors that give us an indication that if we take the Middle East region, for example, we know that there could be very plentiful resources of renewables, low carbon energy, and that is going to be really important for processes that require energy, for instance, direct capture machines or maybe even kind of processing rock, which we can mineralize through capturing CO2.

"And we know that the Middle East region has plentiful geological resources to store carbon. Indeed, that carbon has actually been stalled for a million years in the forms of oil and gas. And so we know these geological formations on the ground are pretty good at storing things for millions of years. And as they are depleted, depleted with oil and gas, maybe we can actually fill them up with our waste CO2,” said Smith.


Saudi Arabia to invest $100m to boost its aviation sector 

Saudi Arabia to invest $100m to boost its aviation sector 
Updated 03 December 2023
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Saudi Arabia to invest $100m to boost its aviation sector 

Saudi Arabia to invest $100m to boost its aviation sector 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia plans to invest $100 million to serve 356 million passengers to further boost its tourism efforts and aviation strategy in line with Vision 2030, according to the president of the Kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation.

Abdulaziz Al-Duailej made this revelation at the 15th International Conference on Air Services Negotiations, organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization in Riyadh on Sunday. The event, hosted by GACA, will continue till Dec. 7.

Emphasizing the comprehensive nature of the strategy, Al-Duailej provided insight into the multifaceted approach. 

He said: “We aim at developing and upgrading all aviation sectors, including Saudi airlines, logistics services, cargo services, and other support services.”

This financial injection underscores Saudi Arabia’s dedication to becoming a prominent player in the global aviation arena. 

Al-Duailej articulated the strategic objectives: “We are building an integrated airline network with Riyadh and Jeddah as strategic and central hubs.”

He outlined plans to establish international connections with 250 destinations by 2030.

This forward-looking approach aims to position Saudi Arabia as a leader in the aviation industry, fostering global connectivity and economic growth.

The significance of this commitment was further underscored by the President of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Salvatore Sciacchitano, who commended Saudi Arabia’s dedication. 

Sciacchitano said: “I am proud to say that the strategic direction of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in this sector will help countries achieve development and success.”

Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Saleh Al-Jasser also emphasized the impact of the civil aviation strategy, designed not only to enhance transportation but to foster relationships, facilitate trade, and open doors to Arab tourism. 

Al-Jasser spoke of the conference as evidence of a collective commitment to global integration through aviation.

The $100 million investment announcement serves as a cornerstone in Saudi Arabia’s journey to become a global aviation leader, as outlined by leaders at the ICAN conference. 

The financial commitment and strategic initiatives reflect the Kingdom’s determination to shape the future of air travel and contribute to the international aviation landscape.