Abdullah Alswaha

Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha (Arabic: عبدالله بن عامر السواحه) is a Saudi government minister who has served as the Minister of Communications and Information Technology since 2017. His ministry is responsible for developing Saudi Arabia's ICT infrastructure and workforce as part of the country's Vision 2030 programme. He was previously managing director of Cisco Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah Alswaha
عبدالله بن عامر السواحه
Minister of Communications and Information Technology
Assumed office
23 April 2017
MonarchSalman
Prime Minister
Chairman of the Saudi Space Commission
Assumed office
3 May 2021
Personal details
NationalitySaudi
Residence(s)Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
EducationKing Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), University of Washington, Harvard Business School
OccupationMinister, Chairman

Education

Alswaha has bachelor's degrees in computer science and electrical engineering. He studied as an undergraduate in Seattle and at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. He has since done executive education programs at Harvard Business School.[1]

Public Service

On May 3, 2021, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued a Royal Decree appointing Alswaha to the post of chairman of the Saudi Space Commission.[2]

In March of the same year, he was appointed as chairman of the board of directors for the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

He is also Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and Chairman of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), posts he has held since April 2017.[3]

Private Sector Career

Alswaha began his career in 2005 at Cisco Saudi Arabia, becoming director of operations and overseeing the development of the company's systems engineering, public sector, commercial, service provider and channel operations. In May 2016, he was appointed managing director.[4]

High Profile Participations

At the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh in October 2017, Alswaha announced a partnership between his ministry, the philanthropic organisation MiSK, and the Mohammed bin Salman College for Business and Entrepreneurship to put young local entrepreneurs and start-ups through a one-year training programme with big tech partners from the US and Europe.[5] The same month he announced that Saudi Post, the government-operated postal system, would enter a five-year 'corporatization phase' before full privatization.[6]

He has previously affirmed Saudi Arabia's commitment to business-friendly policy and has called for greater empowerment of women in the kingdom as part of the push to modernize its economy and workforce.[7][8][9]

At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2018 Alswaha outlined Saudi Arabia's digital vision, announcing spending of $3 billion to roll out a nationwide 5G network and connect two million homes with high speed fiber optic.[10]

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Alsawaha announced that in the framework of the Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is planning to be a leading digital market in the Middle East and South Africa regions. Moreover, with the annual budget of $22 billion in the digital and IT sector, Saudi Arabia has become of the top ranked digital markets worldwide.[11]

Primary Responsibilities
  • Cabinet Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
  • Saudi Space Commission, Chairman
  • The Research, Development and Innovation Authority, Chairman
  • Digital Government Authority, Chairman
  • King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Chairman

Additional Responsibilities and Affiliations

Previous positions

Abdullah Alswaha formerly held other positions, including member of the Technology Advisory Board at Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University (PMU). He was also the founder of the Social Entrepreneurship Incubator, which supports entrepreneurs to develop solutions in the fields of healthcare and education.

References
  1. "H.E. Eng. Abdullah Amer Al-Swaha". Unified National Platform GOV.SA. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  2. "عام / صدور عدد من الأوامر الملكية". Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Press Agency. May 3, 2021.
  3. "المهندس عبدالله بن عامر السواحه وزير الاتصالات وتقنية المعلومات" [HE Abdullah Al-Sawahah, Minister of Communications and Information Technology]. Al Riyadh (in Arabic). 23 April 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  4. "Alswaha new managing director of Cisco KSA". Saudi Gazette. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  5. Fareed, Aisha (15 November 2017). "Women and youth 'will drive Saudi Arabia's digital future". Arab News. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  6. "Sale of the century? $300-billion Saudi state sell-off moves slowly". Reuters. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  7. "Saudi Arabia's approach to modernizing communications". Bloomberg. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  8. "معلومات عن وزير الاتصالات وتقنية المعلومات الجديد" [Information about the new Minister of Communications]. Ajel.sa (in Arabic). 23 April 2017. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  9. Staley, Oliver (21 September 2017). "Saudi Arabia wants tech investment. It needs to answer some difficult questions first". Quartz. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  10. Debusmann, Jr, Bernd (25 January 2018). "Saudi Arabia's digital dreams coming true, says minister". Arabian Business. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  11. "Minister: KSA close to becoming a fully digital economy". Arab News. 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
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