Strategic partnerships key to Saudi innovation drive: Prince Turki

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s bid to make innovation a pillar of its development is gathering momentum, with several major collaborative ventures helping to drive growth across a broad range of knowledge-led industries, said Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed Al-Saud, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).
Strategic partnerships with academic institutions and private industry players were pivotal in Saudi plans to take research and development (R&D) to the next level in manufacturing and production, he told the Oxford Business Group’s (OBG) online broadcasting service Global Platform.
“We are targeting collaborations with the world’s leading research organizations which will enable us to move from innovation to commercialization,” Prince Turki said.
He highlighted some of the partnerships that are already delivering results and will enhance the national economy, notably collaboration with Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and services company Antonov.
The Kingdom has teamed up with Antonov to build the AN-132, a multipurpose transport aircraft that began test flights in December.
The technology for the aircraft is jointly owned by Saudi Arabia and Antonov, Prince Turki said, with manufacturing to be undertaken in the Kingdom.
“This aircraft, which is used for cargo and can take up to 90 passengers, will be soon flown in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
He mapped out plans to create a facility at King Khalid International Airport in the next few years where aircraft such as the Airbus 380 and Boeing 777 could also be built.
This commitment shows progress in Saudi plans to create an aerospace industry by entering into key partnerships that will realize its goals and future plans, he said.
Prince Turki also noted the diverse range of R&D under way in the Kingdom, from genomics and renewable energy to value-added manufacturing and nanotechnology.
The decision to galvanize domestic production will help Saudi Arabia move toward its target of increasing local content by at least 70 percent by 2030, he said.
The country’s innovation drive has allowed it to sharpen its focus on harnessing human resource wealth, in line with the Vision 2030 development plan, he added.
“Saudi Arabia’s economic development will depend on innovation, which requires a lot of R&D,” he said.
“The country is now concentrating on the real revered wealth of the country, and that’s its people, in addition to other resources that Allah granted it.”