Saudia and Huawei To drive regional ICT business

RIYADH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – March 05, 2013 – Saudia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Huawei, a leading global ICT solutions provider and well-known ICT company in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to collaborate on Green IT Park Project at King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. Through this MOU, Saudia and Huawei will take their strategic partnership to a new horizon. With the synergies between Saudia and Huawei, a range of state-of-the-art technologies will be provided and launched, including a Tier - 3 Data Center, Contact Center and ICT Infrastructure Network. Both companies are determined to collaborate in establishing an Innovation Center which will attract young Saudi engineers to learn and develop IT systems that the Saudi Arabia needs for the near future.

The joint initiative will significantly help King Abdullah Economic City to become one of the best Smart cities across the Middle-East. Saudia and Huawei’s influence and experience in the IT industry will help in developing smart business applications. Also the initiative between the two companies will provide young generation, talent software designers and developers the opportunity to learn the latest technologies and understand industrial customers’ needs and requirements. Through the innovation methodologies and great effort by both companies, a lot of technology solutions, products and services will be developed and applied in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region. This will contribute in the efforts that is undergoing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to diversify its economic base and help the country to create jobs for the youth.

Tony Shi, Huawei General Manager in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said: We are very pleased to work with Saudia as a strategic partner. Saudia is running one of the biggest IT networks for the airline industry in the Middle-East. We believe that by following international best-practices rolling out advanced-technologies, the efforts of Saudia and Huawei, will make King Abdullah Economic City a model example in the Kingdom and Middle East region, in term of providing innovative IT solutions.

King Abdullah Economic City has been identified as the ideal locale for the Competency Center due to its cutting-edge facilities, strategic position between East and West, and peerless ability to interact with the region’s largest economy. It is predicted the city will be the size of Washington DC when finished in 2025. The US$100bn project will be particularly influential in boosting the Kingdom’s tourism, logistics, energy, transportation and manufacturing sectors. Saudia has already committed to moving 1000 employees to its Smart Technology Hub in King Abdullah Economic City.

“Saudi Arabia needs to continue strengthening its ability to create sustainable high-tech jobs, and Saudia is determined to do everything it can to support this process,” said His Excellency Eng. Khalid Abdullah Almolhem, Director General, Saudia.