Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia Company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu for long-term cooperation in the field of 'Smart City' technologies and support the kingdom's industrialisation process.

This agreement aims to support the Saudi Vision 2030 roadmap of transforming the kingdom to be a pioneering and successful global model of excellence on all fronts, a statement said.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman's visit to China recently.

Aimed at supporting the industrialisation process of Saudi Arabia, both parties will collaborate to support the development of the local ICT industry, and the employment of qualified Saudi resources in strategic areas, it said.

Huawei will leverage its technologies to serve the Saudi people, in an effort to resolve the challenges associated with the continuing urbanisation of the kingdom and sense of happiness and safety, while increasing the country’s competitiveness, it added.

The agreement includes the implementation of ‘Smart City’ technologies, with an aim to interconnect every component in the several cities. This is done through initiatives like a joint strategy and masterplan design, smart city competency centre, technology innovation and building a smart city reference site together through collaboration, innovation and technology.

The parties promise to interconnect every “component” of the city, drive innovation through human and machine, becoming more efficient at managing energy use, resources, mobility, intelligent living with comfort and security, and sustainable development to overcome the limitations of traditional urban development.

Representing the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu was Dr Alaa Nassif, chief executive officer and Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia Company was represented by Ramadan Ding, chief executive officer.

Huawei, as a global leading information technology and telecommunication leader, has created a specialised centre of excellence around Smart City practice with capabilities that are spanning over a wide range of services, products and partners.

The company recently received the first commercial licence in the field of ICT in the kingdom, and will be running its business in the kingdom with a 100 per cent ownership privilege.

Huawei has a mandate to build effective partnerships with local distributors and enhancing local content, focusing on future achievements and transforming ideas into reality using the latest innovations and the confidence of customers to support the kingdom's Vision 2030, the statement said. - TradeArabia News Service