Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha stated that the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to the Kingdom, accompanied by leaders of major international tech firms, underscores the depth of the strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the United States—a relationship spanning over 90 years of cooperation across various sectors.
In a statement to SPA, Alswaha said the visit also reflects Saudi Arabia’s growing prominence on the global digital economy map, as the largest digital economy in the region and a key hub for investment in artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
Saudi Arabia attracts over $13 billion in U.S. investments
Between 2024 and 2025, Saudi Arabia attracted over $13 billion in U.S. investments—more than 90 percent of all international investments in AI, data centers and cloud services. These investments were made in partnership with major tech companies such as AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Oracle and Groq.
The minister attributed these achievements to the unwavering support of the Kingdom’s leadership and the vision of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, who is leading the Kingdom’s digital transformation under Saudi Vision 2030.
Alswaha also emphasized that Saudi Arabia is investing not only in technology but also in human capital. He noted that partnerships with American firms—including Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft—are instrumental in building the largest digital talent pool in the region, now exceeding 381,000 professionals.
He also highlighted the Kingdom’s global leadership in empowering women in artificial intelligence, ranking among the top countries worldwide in this field.
Saudi Arabia and U.S. bolster space partnership
On the space front, Alswaha noted Saudi Arabia’s ongoing collaboration with U.S. institutions, citing the historic mission that saw the first Saudi woman astronaut travel to the International Space Station. Conducted in partnership with Axiom Space, NASA and SpaceX, the mission involved advanced research in health and sustainability.
He added that the Kingdom’s signing of the Artemis Accords underscores its commitment to the future $2 trillion global space economy.
The minister also pointed to innovative partnerships with leading U.S. universities and institutions—including MIT, Stanford, Caltech and IBM—which have led to the establishment of 14 centers of excellence in fields such as AI, nanotechnology and clean energy. These initiatives, he said, are bolstering Saudi Arabia’s knowledge production and accelerating innovation.
Read: Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum kicks off as Trump lands in Riyadh
Alswaha meets with David Sacks
Ahead of Trump’s arrival in Saudi Arabia, Alswaha met in Riyadh with U.S. White House special advisor for artificial intelligence and crypto, David Sacks. The meeting explored strategic partnership opportunities between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. in AI and technology, aimed at enhancing their pioneering efforts in these fields.
Following the meeting, Alswaha accompanied Sacks on a tour of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) deep-tech venue as well as The Garage, where they met with Saudi entrepreneurs and were introduced to innovative projects supported by the Kingdom’s innovation ecosystem and leading American companies. The initiative reflects both countries’ commitment to supporting startups and enabling their growth within a flexible and stimulating digital environment.
The tour featured presentations by Tuwaiq Academy female leaders in programming and AI, alongside a meeting with the first Arab Muslim female astronaut, Rayyanah Barnawi, and other Saudi astronauts. Saudi Arabia shares a growing partnership with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through collaborative agreements in space exploration and scientific experiments.
