The Digital Government Authority (DGA) and the World Bank Group held a joint workshop to review the achievements of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in digital transformation, highlighting exemplary digital solutions and lessons learned, in conjunction with the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group 2020, where the event provided an opportunity to brief on the views of international participants, including the United Nations. On the occasion, the DGA governor Eng. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Suwayan stressed the importance of enhancing international cooperation in the field of digital transformation to keep pace with the rapid technological developments and accelerate the transfer of knowledge related to digital transformation from developed countries to other countries, calling for knowledge exchange in line with the United Nations sustainable development goals by 2030. During the workshop, he stated that the Kingdom has recorded great progress in the field of government digital transformation by building a flexible and adaptive digital infrastructure that can serve as a solid basis for effectively embracing future changes and challenges, meeting development needs, as well as mitigating digital risks. He pointed out that the Kingdom is moving at a steady pace to be a leading digital center by international standards, saying, "The Kingdom's digital journey was ambitious and built on firm foundations on the way to achieving the goals of Vision 2030." For his part, the Executive Director of the Kingdom at the World Bank Group, Abdul Mohsen Al-Khalaf, highlighted the Kingdom's experience in the field of digitization, which illustrates the value of clear vision, dedicated strategy, diligent innovation and allocating adequate resources. On the other hand, the Saudi Ministries of Justice and Health also reviewed the Saudi national platforms "Tawakalna", "Sehati" and "Najez", while the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAYA) reviewed the data platform. During the workshop, the Kingdom's experience in developing digital government services was reviewed by adopting emerging technologies and their impact on enriching the beneficiaries' experience, achieving their satisfaction and improving the quality of life by relying on innovative models through the use of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, in addition to reviewing the most inspiring international experiences in digital government transformation. This workshop, which was attended by a group of key international speakers, came as "digitalization and development" were among the main items on the agenda of the Development Committee at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund 2022.
