Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

Saudi ministry responsible for communications, information technology and digital-economy policy. Created in 1975 as the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone and renamed in 2003, it is headed by Minister Abdullah Alswaha.

Industry: Government ministry for communications and technology | Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Founded: 1975

About Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is the Saudi government ministry responsible for the communications and information technology sector. It sets sector policy and plans, and runs national programmes on digital infrastructure, technology localisation and digital skills. The ministry is based in Riyadh.

Its origins go back to the Directorate of Telegraph, Post and Telephone, established in 1926. Royal Decree A/336 created the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone in 1975, and Royal Decree A/2 renamed it the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in 2003. Abdullah Alswaha is the minister. The ministry's deputyships cover telecommunications and infrastructure, technology, future skills and jobs, planning, legal affairs, international cooperation and shared services.

The ministry's website lists the Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones Authority, the Digital Government Authority and the Saudi Space Agency as affiliated entities. Its programmes include Future Skills, the Center of Digital Entrepreneurship, the Saudi Digital Academy, the National Technology Development Program and Open Data. Its ICT strategy for 2019-2023 set targets to grow the sector by 50 percent, raise its contribution to GDP by SAR 50 billion and lift workforce localisation to 50 percent.

At LEAP 2026 in Riyadh, in September 2026, the ministry signed a framework agreement with HUMAIN on AI infrastructure and a memorandum with Savvy Games Group on gaming and esports skills. It also runs training programmes with companies including Oracle, Google, Amazon and Adobe. The Mostaqbali digital skills programme, run with Oracle and the National eLearning Center, targets 50,000 participants across 23 training tracks.

The ministry reported further activity in October 2026. On 6 October it said a Quantum Technologies Leadership Program run with IBM had concluded in Zurich. On 19 October, Minister Alswaha called for GCC digital connectivity and sovereign computing at the 30th meeting of the GCC Ministerial Committee for Post and Telecommunications in Bahrain; the Kingdom reported adding more than 8.4 terabits per second of international capacity, for a total of 18. On 20 October an AI hackathon held in partnership with the ministry concluded in the Eastern Region, with 30 projects competing across four tracks.

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