Eight Saudi government entities honored in first National AI Index assessment
RIYADH, September 15, 2026 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) — Eight Saudi government entities were honored on Tuesday for achieving advanced levels in the first assessment cycle of the National AI Index, SPA reported.
The recognition took place during the UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence 2026 in Riyadh. Saudi Data and AI Authority President Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi and UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Sciences ad interim Abou Amani presented the honors.
The Ministry of Energy received recognition in the “Excellence” category.
Seven entities were honored in the “Empowerment” category: the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture; the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development; the Saudi Water Authority; the General Organization for Social Insurance; the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources; and the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing.
The recognition highlighted the entities’ adoption of AI technologies, their work to establish AI across institutional operations and their development of related capabilities and applications.
The National AI Index measures the maturity of AI adoption across government entities through a national framework covering seven areas: strategy, governance, data, infrastructure, human capabilities, applications and impact.
The framework is designed to support responsible AI adoption, strengthen institutional capabilities and improve the technological resources available to government entities in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
It also seeks to encourage competition, innovation and cooperation among government bodies while linking AI plans and applications to measurable results.
SPA did not provide the entities’ scores, the detailed assessment methodology or the individual levels they achieved.
Source: SPA
