Saudi Arabia launches digital cooperation organization with Pakistan, Middle East neighbors

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and a group of countries in the Middle East have launched a new organization to promote the development of the digital economy.

The statement from the ministry stated that Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait are also included in the group, which is named the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO).

Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) is a global organization that aims to enhance collaboration in all areas driven by innovation and to accelerate the development of the digital economy. The organization intends to stabilize the economy, the job market and enhance close cooperation in other areas of mutual interest.

The launching event of Digital Cooperation Organization was attended by Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General and Borge Brende, President, World Economic Forum along with other senior government officials from several nations.

The DCO is founded by Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It leads to a concept of realizing the digital future for all by empowering women, youth and entrepreneurs, developing the digital economy and leapfrogging through innovation.

“We are joining hands together towards a commitment to drive consensus on digital cooperation to make sure that we seize an opportunity for our youth, our women and our entrepreneurs with the ambition to grow our combined digital economy to one trillion dollars in the next 3-5 years. Our future prosperity will depend on the digital economy. But it can only reach its full potential if we are able to make governments work together collectively with businesses, and entrepreneurs so they can survive and thrive, expand their depth into current markets and open doors for everyone into new ones.”

The establishment of the DCO follows the conclusion of the G20 Presidency of Saudi Arabia to sustain the momentum of the Kingdom andm accelerate the development of the digital economy in the region and the world, as nations are increasing their adoption of remote learning, telemedicine and contactless economic systems to survive and thrive beyond the social and economic effect of COVID-19.