Saudi Arabia-based global entity, Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) is adding the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Sultanate of Oman as its founding members to create an economic bloc of $1.2 trillion in GDP.
Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia are the other founding members of the Riyadh-based global organization which aims to improve collaboration among its members in all innovation-driven areas while accelerating the growth of the digital economy.
Digital Cooperation Organization’s first ministerial meeting was chaired by H.E Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha and was attended by ministers of the DCO countries.
The gathering also had the presence of the ITU Secretary-General His Excellency Mr. Houlin Zhao, President of World Economic Forum His Excellency Mr. Børge Brende, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf His Excellency Dr. Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf and Representatives from other UN programs.
During the meeting, DCO decided to launch five high-impact initiatives which are aimed at establishing a center to highlight the importance of cooperation in relation to the flow of data across borders, empowerment of women in the digital labor market, in addition to serving entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to grow and achieve a digital future.
The meeting also saw Saudi Arabia’s Ms. Deemah Al-Yahya being appointed as the Secretary-General of the Organization while it was agreed that the Kingdom retained the Presidency of the organization until the end of current term.
The gathering also discussed the organization’s governance, organizational structure and future plans.
Digital Cooperation Organization
Established in November 2020, at the conclusion of Saudi Arabia’s G20 Presidency, the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) is set up as a union between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Pakistan, and Jordan to pursue common values and goals in the digital economy.
