Partnerships with International Organizations

Cooperation with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)

The Digital Government Authority (DGA) has endorsed close communication and coordination for workshops and studies with the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) of UNDESA, as its mission is to assist the Member States of the United Nations in advancing the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development of 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, including through fostering effective, efficient, transparent, accountable, inclusive and innovative public governance, administration and services for sustainable development.

Cooperation has been successful, yielding results that are beneficial and useful. In one year, the progress in the partnership project showed good results as Saudi Arabia’s EGDI ranking jumped from 43 to 31. What is important about this project is that the DGA team, as well as partners in all other government entities, have gained not only experience but the ability to think and innovate new ways of enhancing their respective portals for reflecting digital transformation and facilitating online services.

Cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN ESCWA)

The long-standing cooperation between Saudi Arabia and UN ESCWA in digital transformation has been active and effective. Although in the past few years, the main scope of the cooperation was supporting the ongoing digital activities with ESCWA relating to member countries, the Digital Government Authority (DGA) has adopted closer cooperation related to digital transformation and e-government. Although the partnership between UN ESCWA and the Kingdom covers other areas, nevertheless in technology, it has been a long-standing collaboration for a long time.

Early in 2022, DGA launched an Inclusive Government Program to provide integrated digital services to the government sector. The aim is to accelerate sustainable digital government transformation and increase data sharing among government agencies to achieve integration. The objective is to provide a better digital experience for the beneficiary through unified platforms and applications, in addition to developing and operating comprehensive government platforms through a set of technologies that enable the authorities to develop, exchange and link services without the need to redesign, test and run the same platforms. DGA followed the assessment methodology of ESCWA’s Government Electronic and Mobile Services Maturity Index (GEMS) and scored the best rank (Rank #1). The index measures the maturity of government services provided through e-portals and smart applications in various sectors, including education, justice, finance, business, and tourism.

A new challenging cooperation program (Unified Development Vision for Arab LDCs in the 2021-2030 Decade) is launched between Saudi Arabia and ESCWA, with support from Saudi Arabia, to launch the first regional dialogue on the new program of action for Arab least developed countries (LDCs) up to 2030. Although this program covers many sectors, it is clear that digital transformation and digital governance are a significant part of development for countries like Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, Libya, Iraq and Palestine. This was discussed at the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, Qatar, on 5-9 March 2023. The project is outlined in a report as an ESCWA Publication (E/ESCWA/CL6.GCP/2020/1) that can be on the following link.

Cooperation with the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU EGOV)

An example of a successful partnership has been the Digital Government Authority (DGA)is partnered with the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV) for professional digital governance development. This partnership is progressing successfully as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is in the midst of a massive socio-economic transformation. The Vision 2030 transformation program promotes the comprehensive transformation of the public sector, improved user-centricity, and efficient and effective service delivery and production. In the ongoing digital transformation of the Saudi public sector, DGA works to improve the accessibility, user-centric, effectiveness and quality of public service delivery in the KSA. In this regard, it adopted a continuous assessment using different measurements and indicators, including the United Nations e-Government Development Index EGDI, in addition to improvement cycles. Through this, DGA is able to identify areas of possible improvement. KSA has made substantial progress in recent years, moving from 105th position in 2003 to 43rd position in 2020 and lately to 31st in 2022. The ambition of Vision 2030 and Saudi authorities are nonetheless higher and aim to provide world-class services online by the end of the decade.

Cooperation with the World Bank Group

Partnership with the World Bank regarding digital transformation has been well defined and supported, focusing on specific needs. This partnership ranged from simple small activities such as a study to much larger and ambitious projects.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), has joined the World Bank’s Digital Development Partnership (DDP) – a collaborative public and private partnership to help developing countries leverage digital innovations to solve some of the most challenging issues. As a new member of the DDP, Saudi Arabia will contribute to the overall digital development agenda of the Partnership to enable the sustainable growth of developing countries and support them in defining and activating national digital strategies and policies to achieve common international goals, including bridging the gap between developed and developing countries, and help in financing, encouraging, developing and adapting data and artificial intelligence technologies to serve all of humanity.

As an example, a study titled “Saudi Arabia’s Digital and Distance Education: Overview” with its summary provides an overview of the relationship between education and digital transformation in the country. This was a study in cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of with support from digital transformation support. Another significant generic report is the “ICT and Sustainability in Saudi Arabia Annual Sustainability Report,” which was published by the Ministry. This report was established as a reference for sustainability in the Information and aimed to educate readers on the many facets of sustainability: environmental, social and economic. It also details how technology impacts progress and serves as a periodic transparency tool whereby readers are provided updates on vital initiatives.

Cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

The Global AI Readiness Framework initiative, led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and supported by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), agreed to create an AI readiness framework. This will be, in fact, a set of frameworks in key socio-economic domains that explores countries' readiness & international collaboration on artificial intelligence to facilitate sharing of best practices. Global AI Readiness Frameworks for key socio-economic domains such as health and smart mobility could help countries adopt best practices in their use of AI necessary for countries to harness AI’s full potential.

ITU shares best practices in the field of AI with the Kingdom. This helps in shedding light on how to sponsor and support emerging companies and new incubators in the national space, especially as there is no official framework that currently exists to support the AI readiness of countries and international cooperation. Such projects and initiatives will accelerate progress toward achieving sustainable development goals and promoting AI as a force for good.

Moreover, a strategic partnership agreement was signed between the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) and ITU to launch a global program to protect children in cyberspace. The empowerment and protection of children in cyberspace is a top priority for the Saudi government. A comprehensive global program was worked jointly, hoping to have an impact on increasing international cooperation to enhance the protection of children in cyberspace.

There are many international organizations that have active cooperation relations and agreements with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Among those are the Gulf Cooperation Council, League of Arab States, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, G20 and others. The Kingdom actively participates in all international and regional forums to improve and facilitate digital transformation, digital inclusion, participation, and empowering vulnerable groups. In addition, among those, there are many private sector companies all around the world. This is a firm policy of partnerships and cooperation.

There are many international organizations that have active cooperation relations and agreements with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Among those are the Gulf Cooperation Council, League of Arab States, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, G20 and others. The Kingdom actively participates in all international and regional forums to improve and facilitate digital transformation, digital inclusion, participation, and empowering vulnerable groups. In addition, among those, there are many private sector companies all around the world. This is a firm policy of partnerships and cooperation.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Saudi Arabia is a member of the Executive Committee of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This committee is mandated to implement the guiding strategy of the eGovernment of the GCC countries supervised by the Ministerial Committee of GCC Governments. The guiding strategy of the eGovernment in GCC countries has four perspectives: Regulatory Framework, Shared electronic services, knowledge management, and Secure Information Architecture. This strategy focuses on the importance of standardization of standards, exchange of data and information, quality of services and activities, as well as the establishment of joint ventures between the Gulf countries in preparation for the launch of the unified services such as eGovernment portal, electronic gate, etc. It also provides an ideal model that contributes to shaping the future of eGovernment across all GCC countries and contributes to the exchange of experiences, thus opening the way for rapid digital transformation in the Gulf States.

Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO)

Saudi Arabia is also a member of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), established by a group of founding countries (including Saudi Arabia) that share an interest in collaborating to realize their collective digital potential. The DCO welcomes members even beyond governments – including private sector entities, research and academic institutions, international organizations, civil society groups, and other institutions to advance our digital transformations inclusively and in a multi-stakeholder approach. The four strategic objectives of DCO include:

• Accelerate the growth of the digital economy collectively across all DCO members.
• Advance DCO members’ digital transformation (strategies, plans, ambitions).
• Strengthen welfare and social stability inclusively across the DCO digital environment.
• Strengthen the collective effort of DCO members in the global digital economy.