Riyadh, 31 January 2019 SPA -- International Institute for Iranian Studies (RASANAH) won advanced international positions in 2019/2018 Global Rankings, as it achieved the first rank in the Kingdom of Saudi Araba, the ninth in the Middle East and North Africa and 28th in the list of best regional specialized studies centers. The Institute also entered the International Standard Classification for the first time and won the 169th place worldwide, among the best new centers in the annual global rankings of study centers. This came in the rankings issued by the University of Pennsylvania at the level of the world, and within more than 8,200 institutions of think tanks and civil society organizations. The report of the University of Pennsylvania classifies the centers of studies as being of importance worldwide, at geographical regions and substantive fields of work and production at the global level, according to a set of indicators, including the management and organization of human and intellectual resources, intellectual and scientific production, and the degree of influence in decision-making and policy-making. RASANAH founded and headed by Dr. Mohammed bin Saqr Al-Salami held on Thursday the second meeting of Saudi think tanks in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania on "The importance and future of thought centers in policy making in the light of huge data and artificial intelligence, the impact of large data on fact-finding and policy analysis, and the role of artificial intelligence in the transformation of thought centers and the future of thought under the phenomenon of social media platforms and information security. -- SPA 15:21 LOCAL TIME 12:21 GMT 0008 www.spa.gov.sa/w829501