Kingdom, US discuss cooperation on communication technologies

The president of the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology met a senior White House security official on Thursday to discuss possible future cooperation in communications technologies.

Munir bin Mahmoud Eldesouki welcomed Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, and the members of her delegation representing about 20 US agencies and companies, including Amazon and IBM.

Eldesouki spoke of the role the Kingdom’s national labs play in accelerating technological developments, bridging the gap between industry and academia and promoting innovation in line with the Vision 2030 initiative.

Talal bin Ahmed Al-Sedairy, KACST’s senior vice president for research and development, and Bassam bin Abdullah Al-Bassam, deputy minister for telecom and infrastructure, discussed national strategies and guidelines for communications in the Kingdom.

The visiting delegates discussed the roll-out and operations of Open RAN innovations, as well as developments in cybersecurity and the role of artificial intelligence in developing smart networks.

Representatives of the Research, Development and Innovation Authority, King Saud University, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and several of the visitors shared their views on the role of academic partnership in accelerating innovation and the practical applications of research outputs.

Executives and researchers from KACST, STC Group, Aramco, and senior officials from Amazon, Qualcomm, Ciena, IBM and Ceres Capital discussed potential investment opportunities.

The meeting was followed by a visit to an exhibition showcasing collaborations between the Kingdom and the US through the Joint Centers of Excellence programs.