On the sidelines of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman's visit to China and during the 2017 ‘Saudi-China Investment Forum', Huawei Tech. Investment Saudi Arabia and Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu have signed a milestone agreement to establish a training academy and a smart city innovation center in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, accelerating smart city deployment in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The academy plans to be open for training this year. In order to build the most skilled team in the Kingdom, Huawei will be supplying the latest in lab equipment, training instructors, monitoring talent development and other proactive knowledge sharing initiatives. The smart city innovation center is also begged to be open in 2017, and will aim to support Saudi Arabia 2020 transformation program focused on growing their digital economy. The center will be home to innovative smart city technology, providing a platform for the two parties to create, build and deploy new services in Yanbu industrial city. Commenting on the signing of this agreement, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Commission of Yanbu and Jazan Economic City Dr. Alaa bin Abdullah Nassif, said: "Enforcing the directives of the wise leadership and with the aim of achieving the strategic goal of developing a unique city that is technologically advanced based on global standards of smart cities, the Royal Commission of Yanbu established and developed the first smart city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through partnerships with several private sector companies. Today, we signed a partnership deal with one of the leading companies, Huawei, to develop and establish the smart city innovation center - which is the first of its kind in the region - as well as developing the Huawei training academy in order to transfer the knowledge and global experience in the technology field." "As a global leader in smart city innovation, Huawei is proud to be a strategic partner to the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu in developing local ICT capabilities that will support the development and implementation of 2030 vision for the Kingdom," said Ramadan Ding, CEO of Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia. "Huawei's advanced smart city innovation coupled with its global leadership in research and development will ultimately benefit the people of Saudi Arabia. Huawei reaffirms its full support and commitment to the Kingdom and the people of Saudi Arabia." The ‘Saudi-China Investment Forum' was organized under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment and inaugurated by Dr. Majid A. Al Qasabi. Held in cooperation with Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) with facilitation by Saudi Aramco, the forum looks to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Support was also provided by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Investment Promotion Agency of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The Forum focused on the Kingdom's Vision 2030, the roles that private sectors of both countries can have in the implementation of that vision, and the Belt and Road Initiative. The program also included signing ceremonies and MOUs between various Saudi and Chinese companies and entities. — SG
