Saudi Arabia named partner for GITEX Technology Week 2015

The organizers of GITEX Technology Week 2015, the largest technology event in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, have announced that Saudi Arabia will serve as the official country partner.

“As the official country partner for GITEX Technology Week 2015, the kingdom will use this global platform to demonstrate best practices in government-led innovation to boost economic diversification, while encouraging foreign direct investment in the kingdom’s (information and communications technology) ICT sector and supporting home-grown technology entrepreneurs to expand beyond our borders to deliver transformative services,” Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Asiri, a spokesman for the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Interior's National Information Center, said.

Demonstrating investment opportunities, the kingdom’s ICT sector has expanded significantly over the past 10 years and remains on a strong growth trajectory. Over the next five years, the kingdom’s ICT market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 8.1 percent to exceed $36.8 billion in 2017.

Public sector investment in ICT will play a key role in Saudi Arabia's nationwide digital transformation, with the kingdom’s public sector IT spending set to grow by 44 percent from 2014-2017, according to a report by IDC and Mobily.