The capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh jumped 18 places, to achieve qualitative progress in the “Smart Cities Index 2020” issued by the International Institute for Administrative Development, surpassing global cities such as Tokyo, Rome, Paris and Beijing, to become the fifth smartest city among the G20 capitals, which is its third largest progress among Cities of the Group of Twenty countries.
This progress came to reflect the great impact of digital transformation, data and industrial intelligence in the city of Riyadh, and its ability to adopt the latest technologies and digital solutions, in addition to speed and flexibility in processing digital government transactions and digital identity services, ease of starting new businesses, and reducing waiting times, at a time when government applications and platforms played a big role in raising health and safety indicators for the smart city of Riyadh, specifically during the Corona pandemic (Covid-19).
This progress achieved by the city of Riyadh reflects the concerted efforts between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Saudi Authority for Data and Industrial Intelligence (SDAIA) and the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, by providing advanced infrastructure and smart applications, and implementing development projects, to make Riyadh a smart city that achieves high levels of luxury to its residents.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)