Ministry of Energy, SDAIA launch Artificial Intelligence Center for Energy

The Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman

The Ministry of Energy and Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) launched the Artificial Intelligence Center for Energy, which aims to achieve their common goals in line with Vision 2030.

The center will enhance the competitiveness of the energy sector, particularly in joint innovation in artificial intelligence, the ministry said in a statement.

It will further contribute to building national capabilities and competencies related to artificial intelligence in the sector, which will enhance the achievement of the goals of the National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence (NSDAI) to reach more than 15,000 specialists in the field by 2030.

In addition, the centre will advance cooperation with major national and global companies in the fields of energy and artificial intelligence to localize technology and stimulate investment in artificial intelligence.

The Artificial Intelligence Energy Center will be managed jointly by the Ministry of Energy and SDAIA, with the participation of the main stakeholders in the national energy system.

In this regard, the Ministry of Energy signed with SDAIA a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening efforts aimed at raising the ranking of Saudi Arabia in the leading global indicators related to data and artificial intelligence, as well as to contribute to the development of national capabilities on data and artificial intelligence methodologies within the Kingdom.

The MoU comes within the framework of supporting government integration between the Ministry of Energy and SDAIA to achieve common goals related to supporting, developing, reviewing and implementing strategies in the fields of data and artificial intelligence in the energy and gas sectors.

The Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said that the launch of the center and the signing of the MoU come at a time when Vision 2030 has achieved great successes, indicating that the center is as an extension of the ministry’s trend to rely on data, artificial intelligence, innovation and transformation, as basic pillars for the future of the energy sector, and maximizing value addition.

He added that the energy system believes in the importance of integration and working as a joint government team with the various relevant agencies, taking into account the responsibility and nature of each party’s work.

The minister also emphasized the importance of the relationship between the energy, data and artificial intelligence sectors in Saudi Arabia, where the energy sector accounts for about 40% of the GDP, with more than 270,000 people working in it.

Furthermore, Prince Abdulaziz pointed out that this cooperation will support the achievement of the Vision 2030 goals, and a number of other strategies, such as developing and diversifying the Saudi economy, and creating jobs in the sector.