Saudi Arabia, US ink 18 agreements in energy, space, ICT, healthcare

Saudi Arabia and the US have signed 18 agreements for joint cooperation in sectors such as investment, energy, ICT, space and healthcare. The agreements were signed during US President Joe Biden’s recent visit to the kingdom, which concluded on July 16.

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According to the Saudi Press Agency, the agreements align with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia signed agreements with leading US companies, such as Boeing Aerospace, Raytheon Defense Industries, Medtronic and Digital Diagnostics, and IKVIA in the healthcare sector, as well as others across the energy, tourism, education, manufacturing, and textile sectors.

The Saudi Space Authority signed the Artemis Accords with US Space Agency (NASA), which would allow it to undertake the joint exploration of the Moon and Mars in cooperation with NASA while granting the kingdom a seat in the international coalition preparing for the civil exploration and use of the Moon, Mars, comets and asteroids for peaceful purposes.

The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology signed an agreement with IBM to upskill 100,000 young women and men over five years within eight initiatives to support the kingdom’s goal to be a hub for technology and innovation in the Middle East and North Africa region. The ministry also signed an agreement with the US National Communications and Information Administration, which includes cooperation between the two countries on 5G and 6G technologies.

Partnership agreements between the energy ministries of both countries were signed to promote clean energy and further cooperation in civil nuclear energy and uranium.

The Saudi and US ministries of health also signed a memorandum of cooperation on public health, medical sciences and research.  The memorandum also seeks to organise joint training for workers in the health and medical fields, while addressing the proper application of health information systems, research and development, and health innovation.