Digital transformation is an important part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which is a collection of strategies and programs to promote sustainable national development guided by the three pillars of a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. Since “everything happens somewhere,” geospatial is a critical enabler of the digital transformation.
We are reforming our approach to geospatial. The General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information (GASGI) has been granted the mandate to organize, supervise, regulate and monitor the sector, by working with relevant stakeholders to ensure improved availability of standards-based geospatial data and services.
Ensuring data availability
Geospatial technology provides a key input to support the pervasion of advanced digital technology, manifested in the form of increasingly critical apps that are already affecting how people, businesses, and governments communicate to provide services. An example is the kind of apps that are being used extensively to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are reforming our approach to geospatial
in Saudi Arabia.”
The Kingdom acknowledges the importance of authoritative and accurate information as a critical enabler for sustainable national development in today’s age. We have implemented the national geospatial platform to ensure that the existing geospatial data in the Kingdom is easily available and shared across the user community.
Building geospatial information framework for reference
At the regional level, in February 2020, UN-GGIM Arab States agreed in their seventh plenary meeting that the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) is an excellent reference framework and that the member states could adopt it for drawing their respective national geospatial strategies. In order to promote wider and better understanding across the Arab States, we have translated IGIF into Arabic. I can tell you that for Saudi Arabia, IGIF will be an important reference for our national geospatial strategy.
Encouraging private participation
A 2018 study for the development of a competitive environment for the provision of survey and geospatial data, products, and services for KSA found that the role of the private sector in the field of fulfilling the demand for geospatial information is limited. However, it is generally known that the private sector brings in efficiency of execution. Hence, the Kingdom is looking at leveraging more of the private sector. The suitability of a private sector-based national geospatial operator, who is responsible for delivering the foundation geospatial data themes for the country, is being evaluated.
The majority of the Kingdom’s population is young and tech savvy and has been using geospatial information widely. For the private sector, this presents strong investment opportunities. We are working with academic education and technical training partners within and outside the Kingdom to promote capacity development in the geospatial sector. As we build better governance, and promote effective communication in the geospatial sector, we aspire to contribute to our national development in a sustainable manner.
