Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
News

Saudi telecommunications market is largest in Middle East, says ITU secretary-general

10 December 2020

Houlin Zhao, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), hailed Saudi Arabia’s efforts and its remarkable initiatives in telecommunications fields, including the launch of a new platform to enhance international cooperation in the digital fields. He described the Kingdom’s telecommunications market as the largest in the Middle East region, reports the Saudi Gazette, 

Zhao made the remarks during a three-day webinar titled “Radio Spectrum for IMT-2020 and beyond: Fostering Commercial and Innovative Use”, co-organized by ITU and the Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) of Saudi Arabia. The webinar focuses on the latest spectrum of innovation and best practices for policymakers.

Zhao praised the regulatory maturity of the telecommunications and information technology (CIT) sector in the Kingdom. “As per the classification of ITU, CITC is one of the most regulated and developed CIT bodies in the world,” he added.

Inaugurating the event on Tuesday, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha highlighted the role of digital infrastructure, calling it the lifeblood of the global economy after the coronavirus pandemic. He also stressed its importance in the success and resilience of the economy.

Al-Swaha underscored the Kingdom’s keenness to cooperate with ITU and its global partners in the field of the spectrum to enhance the benefits from it. He stressed the importance of the meeting of decision-makers in the field of spectrum in the seminar to discuss this important resource.

More than 70 high-ranking officials and specialists from various governmental, private, and academic agencies attended the virtual event. The webinar is being convened as part of unifying global efforts and visions in the field of the frequency spectrum, and to activate its role in promoting digital transformation in the Kingdom and the world.

 

Source: commonspace.eu with agencies 
Photo: Houlin Zhao, secretary-general of the ITU. 

 

 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Uzbekistan calls for bigger voice for Central Asia in the UN
Trending

Uzbekistan calls for bigger voice for Central Asia in the UN

26 September 2026
Uzbekistan called for a more effective and representative United Nations on September 23, as presidential administration chief Saida Mirziyoyeva used her address to the UN General Assembly to seek support for the country’s candidacy for a nonpermanent Security Council seat in 2035–2036. Speaking at the Assembly’s 81st session in New York, Mirziyoyeva argued that international cooperation remains necessary despite growing geopolitical divisions. She endorsed UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ UN80 reform initiative and called for an expanded Security Council, arguing that international rules should be applied consistently rather than according to the interests of powerful states. Uzbekistan’s planned chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement in 2027 was presented as another platform for promoting dialogue. Her emphasis on multilateralism also fits a broader Central Asian effort to increase the region’s role in international institutions. Kyrgyzstan, for example, will hold its first Security Council seat in 2027–2028. Mirziyoyeva also highlighted regional cooperation, pointing to improved relations among Central Asian states over longstanding border and water disputes. On Afghanistan, she urged countries not to view it solely as a security threat, stressing the importance of creating conditions for peaceful development. She linked Uzbekistan’s international agenda to domestic reforms, citing economic growth, falling poverty and expanded education. Climate and water security also featured prominently, with the Aral Sea serving as an example of the consequences of poor environmental management. (click image to read more)

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov
Trending

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

15 January 2026
Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)
Murad Muradov
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Murad Muradov