RIYADH – Recognizing the essential role that intellectual property plays in a vibrant economic landscape, Huawei — a leading global ICT solutions provider—has concluded its successful collaboration with Saudi Customs in support of the recent 4th Arab Forum on Combating Commercial Fraud, Counterfeiting and IPR Protection. The forum addressed the challenges posed by commercial fraud and counterfeiting as it relates to businesses in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. As a diamond sponsor of this year's forum, Huawei delivered a keynote on why intellectual property rights (IPR) will be crucial to powering the future vision of Saudi Arabia, including the issues most relevant to high-level officials and exporters in the Kingdom today. Senior executives attending the forum included Ramadan Ding, CEO of Huawei Saudi Arabia, and David Harmon, VP of Global Public Affairs at Huawei. “The initiatives run by Saudi's national customs authorities are instrumental to the success of businesses that are driving innovation within their respective industries,” said Ramadan Ding, CEO of Huawei Saudi Arabia. “Under the cooperation and support of Saudi Customs, we were pleased to be a partner in this year's forum and to link with others in the Kingdom eager to place compliance and quality at the forefront of their sectors.” Creating and protecting intellectual property has been a long-time factor in the expansion of Huawei's own business in KSA. The company was noted on last year's Thomson Reuters' list of “Top 100 Global Innovators” with around 45% of its 170,000 employees dedicated to the field of research and development. With a keen understanding of the value of intellectual property, the company invested $6.6 billion globally in research and development last year alone—just over 14% of its annual sales revenue. Protecting such investments has led to the company becoming the ICT market leader within Saudi Arabia and a brand of choice among telecom operators, governments and enterprises, as well as consumers. — SG
