Riyadh, February 3, 2022, SPA -- The Saudi Digital Academy has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei for cooperation to develop local technological talents to contribute to realizing the digital transformation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a way that accords with Saudi Vision 2030. The memorandum was signed by CEO of the Saudi Digital Academy Mohammed Al-Suhaim and Deputy CEO of Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia Steven Liu on the sidelines of the international technological Conference LEAP. It was signed in the presence of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Haytham Al-Ohali, Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology for Future Jobs and Capabilities Eng. Faris Al-Saqabi and CEO of Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia Eric Yang. Under the memorandum, both institutions will cooperate in launching several projects relying on the Huawei Academy for Information Technology and Communications, which is an initiative that aims at building a supply chain for talents, including the entire learning process and granting certificates and employment. Both sides, through these projects, aim at sponsoring 8,000 local talents through the Huawei-accredited program of certificates of information technology and communications, where they will also cooperate in the coming years to organize the annual Huawei competition for information technology and communication in the Middle East, which was organized in 2021 in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in addition to supporting the “Attaa Digital” initiative, which was launched under the patronage of the ministry with the aim of providing necessary training for developers of Huawei services for mobile phones in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The academy will also cooperate with Huawei on organizing several activities to exchange knowledge, where Huawei will provide training and accredited certificates for 100 Saudi trainers from the academy through the Huawei program for the training of trainers, which focuses on fields such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cyber security and 5G uses. Huawei will also provide training courses on digital leadership for leaders of the academy and the ministry. The academy and Huawei also announced that they are planning to organize an exhibition for information technology and communication jobs by the end of this year with the aim of providing jobs for local talents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Al-Suhaim said: “The Saudi Digital Academy has always cooperated with prestigious academic institutions and private sector leaders to develop its programs, and this memorandum of understanding signed with Huawei will contribute to providing several opportunities for digital talents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and developing their skills to prepare the next generation of the digital economy leaders.” For his part, Yang said: “We have to work on developing local talents to push forward the process of digital transformation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Through cooperation with the Saudi Digital Academy, we will be able to provide a coherent ecological system for fresh graduates and information technology and communication specialists, in a way that contributes to realizing the Saudi Vision 2030 that focuses on enhancing the information technology and communications sector.” --SPA 14:13 LOCAL TIME 11:13 GMT 0011 www.spa.gov.sa/w1686886