February 16-17RIYADH: Technology adoption, institutional capabilities, and entrepreneurship are crucial for driving productivity across developing economies, government and industry leaders insisted at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies.
The event highlighted artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and global cooperation as key to strengthening financial stability, promoting sustainable growth, and enhancing economic resilience in these regions.
This comes on the back of the growing importance of these technologies in enhancing financial decision-making, reducing risks, and increasing economic resilience by improving transparency and access to financial services.
Reflecting on previous discussions around the topic, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim, said: “We talked about diversification, but it was hard to get the political will and the whole-of-government and whole-of-nation action behind it. Today, we’re seeing it, and we’re trying to make it count.”
Al-Ibrahim emphasized that while transformative technologies play a crucial role in boosting productivity, their adoption is not a straightforward process.
He noted that emerging economies cannot simply implement a technology support package and expect immediate results. Instead, he stressed the importance of developing the necessary capabilities and foundational elements to effectively integrate and benefit from these technologies.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative has positioned both the private and public sectors to capitalize on artificial intelligence.
“There are institutional capabilities in the private sector and, with Vision 2030, even in the public sector. Because of that, we’re seeing companies in generative AI flocking to companies such as Aramco and the energy sector because the use cases are clear, and the data is structured and ready to be used,” Al-Ibrahim added.
Argentina’s Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Federico Sturzenegger, shared an optimistic perspective on AI’s impact, adding that the technology will accelerate economic transformation, affecting labor markets and commodity prices.
Brookings Senior Fellow Santiago Levy pointed out structural challenges in emerging economies, particularly the lack of mid-sized firms capable of adopting technology, saying: “There are very few firms that can actually engage in technology adoption,” he said.
Looking ahead, Al-Ibrahim stressed the importance of bold leadership and policy decisions to accelerate transformation.
“We want to see more innovation-driven entrepreneurship activity commensurate with the level of activity at Vision 2030. It attracts innovators and creates high-value jobs in the long term,” he said.
Global collaboration was another key theme of the discussion. Al-Ibrahim urged stakeholders to shift their approach, saying: “It needs to move away from trying to please everyone at the cost of offering a meaningful, serious solution to the problem.”
