Abdulaziz Al-Wasel, Saudi Arabia's representative to the UN
Saudi Arabia has urged nations to prioritize strengthening cybersecurity to ensure safe and reliable cyberspace that supports growth and prosperity. Abdulaziz Al-Wasel, Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the UN, emphasized the need for a serious, practical international approach during a UN Security Council debate on evolving cyberspace threats.
Al-Wasel highlighted the Kingdom's rapid progress in cybersecurity, which was developed as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan. This includes a model based on centralized governance and decentralized operability, overseen by national authorities. Saudi Arabia's efforts led to significant achievements, such as ranking second globally in the 2020 Global Cybersecurity Index and topping the global cybersecurity rankings in the 2024 World Competitiveness Yearbook.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia established the National Institute for Cybersecurity. The Kingdom also launched the Global Cybersecurity Forum in 2020, an international platform for discussing strategic cybersecurity issues. Last year, the forum saw participation from over 120 countries and led to establishing the International Cybersecurity Forum Foundation in Riyadh.
“The Kingdom is keen to unify regional efforts to cooperate in enhancing regional cybersecurity, which resulted in the establishment of a specialized ministerial committee for cybersecurity under the umbrella of the Gulf Cooperation Council, based on a proposal from the Kingdom,” Al-Wasel said.
Another Saudi proposal led to the creation of the Council of Arab Cybersecurity Ministers, with its headquarters in Riyadh.
The UN praised Saudi Arabia's contributions, stating, “Saudi Arabia also provides capacity-building exercises worldwide, with over 40 states and organizations participating in such training.”