Saudi ministries to go paperless by 2023: ICT minister

Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation is 72 percent completed, as all the ministries will be paperless by 2023, Al-Eqtisadiah reported, citing Abdullah Al-Swaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).

The digitalization has created new business models that provided around 200,000 jobs in the past five years, such as the ride-hailing platforms Uber and Careem, he said in an interview.

Studies have shown that future growth will be through virtual operators, as most IT investments will be pushed towards that sector, he said.

Nine e-payment companies have requested to conduct business in the Kingdom, of which three have already launched – namely STC Pay, Bayan Pay and Halalah.

When asked about the Saudi technology industry and how will it reach production phase, Al-Swaha said: “Under Vision 2030, we aspire to achieve in 12 years what Silicon Valley achieved in 40, through support and stimulus.”  

Saudi Arabia is ranked 12 among the world’s top countries in telecommunications, while the Kingdom is the number one IT market in the MENA region, he said.

Regarding the technology in the health sector, the minister said that Artificial Intelligence will be used in the health care, as the ministry of health will soon reveal using robots in cooperation with international firms, where a health consultation with a machine will cost less than one riyal.

Commenting on the Saudization rate in the ICT sector, he said that nationalization currently reaches 80 percent.

The ICT sector’s revenue stood at SAR 130 billion in 2018, contributing around SAR 90 billion to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP), Al-Swaha added.