Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH - The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) on Sunday signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to boost cooperation and achieve further development and growth in the field of communications and information technology between the two countries. Communications and Information Technology Minister Abdullah Al-Sawaha and Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Masatoshi Ishida signed the agreement in the presence of a number of officials from both the countries.

The ceremony was held on sidelines of the ministerial meetings of the G20 digital economy held in Tsukuba in preparation for the 2019 G20 summit, to be held on June 28–29 in Osaka, Japan.

Speaking on the occasion, Al-Sawaha said the agreement focuses on several key areas of cooperation with Japan, and these include the development of human capital, enhancing the quality of digital infrastructure, in addition to supporting the IT industry and investment in innovation and emerging technologies, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The minister stressed the importance of developing human capital as the cornerstone of the comprehensive development process. “Therefore, the ministry is keen on developing the potential and skills of the Saudi youth in the technical field.”

He said there are provisions in the agreement for the exchange of visits between experts and specialists in the two countries; organization of seminars, conferences and joint working sessions; and promoting establishment of many activities and works related to communications and information technology in order to exchange knowledge, experience and experiments so as to achieve the aspirations of the two countries.