Leaders  from specialised sectors such as technology, communications, gas and petrochemicals, and services will provide insight into the latest technology trends impacting the sectors at the first Saudi International Exhibition and Conference for Internet of Things, to be held in Riyadh in January.

Being organised under the patronage of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), event will be taking place from January 28 to 30. It is organised by New Horizon for the first time and will take place at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center.

Leaders of major international and national companies will participate as speakers, as part of the initiative to create a platform that focuses on the capabilities of the Internet of Things, as well as to face the challenges and identify the opportunities that are associated with IoT, a statement said.

Engineer Abdullah Al Sawaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said: “The holding of the Riyadh Internet of Things Exhibition and Conference for the first time represents a major step in supporting the kingdom’s Vision 2030, which has allocated a great deal of support to the IT sector, and has also affirmed its support for creative and innovative thinking to motivate young people to transform their ideas into actions and activities that contribute to the ongoing development efforts through the Vision 2030.”

He added that MCIT is seeking to transform the kingdom into a platform for Internet applications in the region and to explore the best ways to reach this through the transfer of international expertise and by facilitating access to appropriate funding.

He also pointed out that the kingdom has great opportunities in Internet of Things applications, especially since this market is still growing, and Saudi Arabia has an abundance of researchers, developers and experts in this area.

He also stated that the world economy would be heavily affected in the coming period by the technology of Internet of Things, including the fields of agriculture, industry, health, education, transportation and others. The volume of investments in this filed will be very large, he added.

Regarding the challenges that internet technology is facing, Al-Sawaha indicated that MCIT would work with various stakeholders to provide everything that is required to foster a safe environment for this technology, by designing an appropriate infrastructure to prevent infiltrations and tampering of devices.

“This exhibition and conference is a very important event for the future of the Internet in the kingdom,” said Shuaib bin Abdullah Al-Abdulrahman, general manager of New Horizon.