From a proposed new “cloud hub” in Saudi Arabia to a project by Dubai to put blockchain at the heart of its so-called Silicon Oasis, Middle East governments are putting cutting edge technology at the heart of plans to transform their economies.
The Saudis are even planning to build an entire new high-tech zero carbon megacity, Neom, where robots will outnumber humans, goods will be delivered by drone and education will be online.
The drivers behind the region’s embrace of the tech economy include a dwindling reliance on traditional oil and gas sales and an ever-growing youth population – more half the inhabitants of the Middle East are under 30 – that would once have sought jobs in the extensive public sector.