H.E. the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Mohamed Jamil Mulla has said that ICT market in Saudi Arabia has reached a level of maturity and development that makes it compete other world markets in term of services, regulations and professionalism. He added that scientific and research side has become a vital element in the development of the sector.
The Minister made these remarks while addressing on Tuesday January 19, 2010 (4 Safar 1431H.) the International Conference on Communication Technologies (ICCT) being organized by the Saudi Telecommunications Society (STS) from 18-20 January 2010 (3-5 Safar 1431H.)
ICCT2010 was opened by H.E. the Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Anqari on Monday January 18, 2010 (3 Safar 1431H.) . The event is organized under the patronage of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. The event is held under the theme (Toward Advanced National Telecommunication Industry for Activating the Knowledge Economy).
Eng. Mulla praised STS efforts in organizing this conference. He said that this conference (Comes within the frame of the attention given by the government to the transfer to an advanced- knowledge society capable of contributing and reaching knowledge partnerships and outreaches at the national and international levels). He added that it is hopeful that STS would support the plans and trends and help in education, training and scientific research programs. The Minister urged the Society and its members to actively take part by expressing views and opinions in the public consultations issued by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC).
The Minister shed light on the national plans and programs prepared and being implemented by MCIT in cooperation with other government departments. Among these plans and programs is, the National Communication and Information Technology Plan (NCITP) and the e-Government Program.
Eng. Mulla revealed that thanks to these efforts, Saudi Arabia has achieved significant advancement in e-government transactions. He added in this context that the Kingdom has improved its United Nations e-government readiness rankings this year when it fell 12 notches, slipping from 70 to 58 from the 192 countries around the world. This means the Kingdom has jumped 12 ranks compared to 2008 United Nations e-government readiness rankings, 22 from 2005 readiness ranking, 32 from 2004 ranking and 47 ranks from the UN 2003 e-government readiness rankings.