Saudi Arabia Saves $2.4 Bn from 2,500 Gov't Reform Projects

06/11/2025 04:09 AST

Saudi Arabia unveiled significant advances in its digital transformation during the fourth edition of the Digital Government Forum 2025 in Riyadh, a high-profile event that brought together more than 400 government entities and 2,000 decision-makers and global and local experts.

The forum, far from being just a discussion platform, highlighted Saudi Arabia's rapid progress in digital services, with the kingdom ranking first regionally and third globally in the Digital Government Services Maturity Index.

Ahmed Alsuwaiyan, Governor of the Saudi Digital Government Authority (DGA), announced that a review of 2,500 government reform projects had generated savings of $2.4 billion.

The forum also saw the launch of pioneering technological initiatives, including Saudi Arabia's plan to become the first country to launch a government marketplace for artificial intelligence agents, the rollout of the national business instant messaging platform "Beem," the launch of the "Smart Court," and the automation of the civil registry.

These initiatives underscore the kingdom's accelerating drive toward Vision 2030 targets in expenditure efficiency and digital leadership.

In his opening remarks, Alsuwaiyan said Saudi Arabia held the top spot in the region and third globally in digital government services maturity, reflecting the rapid development of digital infrastructure and the efficiency of technological transformation across government entities.

He added that total savings reached 8.87 billion riyals ($2.4 billion) in the third quarter of 2025, covering more than 2,500 reform projects across over 120 government entities, as part of ongoing efforts to improve financial and administrative performance and spending efficiency.

Alsuwaiyan also noted that small and medium enterprises contributed 9.16 billion riyals, accounting for about 24% of total government procurement in 2024, highlighting the government's commitment to supporting the private sector and boosting its role in economic development.

Government cloud service adoption rose to 41%, up from 14% in 2021, with total spending exceeding 25 billion riyals across more than 156 government entities by the end of Q3 2025, demonstrating the readiness of digital infrastructure and a shift toward more efficient and secure solutions.

The authority continues to lead government digital transformation efforts according to global best practices, contributing to Vision 2030 goals by enhancing financial sustainability and improving service quality for citizens and beneficiaries, he said.

Government AI Marketplace
Tareq Amin, CEO of Saudi AI company Humain, said Saudi Arabia would become the first country to launch a centralized government marketplace for AI agents. He described the kingdom's unprecedented technological transformation, positioning AI as an integral part of every government and private sector activity.

AI is the enabling technology that will permeate everything done, whether in government, the private sector, or even at the consumer level, Amin told attendees.

He added that Saudi Arabia had the opportunity to distinguish its services and products globally, noting that Huamain was established to develop massive infrastructure and data centers hosting advanced chips and processors with liquid cooling architecture.

According to Amin, the company plans to build computing capacity of 1.9 gigawatts by 2030, rising to 6 gigawatts by 2034, in strategic partnerships with global firms including Nvidia and Qualcomm. Currently, Humain serves 150 countries through its inference ecosystem at roughly 47% lower cost than major international competitors.

Abdulwahab Al-Baddah, a DGA spokesperson, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia ranks among the world's leading countries, securing first place regionally for the third consecutive year in the UN ESCWA index, third globally according to the World Bank, and fourth in the UN e-Government Development Index.

Boosting Productivity and Digital Services
The forum also launched several initiatives, including the Beem business platform, an integrated instant messaging and collaborative work system developed by the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones in partnership with the DGA.

Beem is a nationally owned platform, developed locally with all data hosted within Saudi Arabia, designed to increase efficiency and productivity in government, corporate, and private sector environments.

It consolidates work tools in a single digital ecosystem, offering instant messaging, high-quality video meetings, file and task management, shared calendars, bilingual support in Arabic and English, advanced team organization tools, local secure cloud storage, and multi-organization account management.

Faisal Al-Khamisi, chairman of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones, said Beem represented a strategic step in building national digital solutions to global standards, reflecting local expertise in advanced technology development and enhancing productivity while ensuring compliance with national regulations.

The platform relies on locally compliant infrastructure with secure data management, precise access control, and collaboration tools suitable for office, hybrid, and remote work environments, aligning with Vision 2030 digital transformation objectives.

Smart Court and Civil Registry Automation
The forum also introduced the "Smart Court," a comprehensive digital system from the Board of Grievances that redesigns litigation processes using a realistic, simplified, and technology-integrated approach, improving service quality and supporting an advanced administrative judiciary.

Additionally, the "Education and Training Situation Room" was launched to analyze evaluation data, turning large datasets into actionable insights for education and training policy, contributing to national development.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the Unified Embassy Portal, consolidating all Saudi embassies' websites under a single digital platform with consistent branding and improved user experience.

The civil registry system was also automated through the Absher Individual platform, allowing citizens, residents, and visitors to manage civil records electronically, covering over 61 services, including data updates, birth and death certificates, and marriage and divorce documentation.

Government Website Performance
The DGA announced that the 2025 Government Websites and Digital Content Efficiency Index scored 76.24%, classified as "proficient," up from 71.40% in 2024, based on assessments of 250 government websites. This improvement reflects growing government commitment to updating content and enhancing digital presence in line with Vision 2030.

Top performers included the Human Resources Development Fund at 92.43%, followed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development at 92.41%, King Khalid University at 92.37%, and Qassim University at 92.31%.

Other notable rankings were the Saudi Water Authority at 92.02%, the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center at 90.71%, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources at 90.02%, the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation at 89.52%, and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority at 89.39%.