The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Saudi Arabia has published Towards Saudi Arabia’s Quantum-Enabled Future: Piloting the World Economic Forum’s Quantum Economy Blueprint. Saudi Arabia is the first country to pilot the Forum’s blueprint, and the report sets out a national roadmap for quantum technology under Vision 2030. Quantasphere’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Uzma Siddiqui, is a listed contributor.
What the report covers
The roadmap is built on three pillars. Building capabilities maps the quantum value chain and assesses the Kingdom’s access to hardware, supply chains and skilled people, recommending a national quantum centre and dedicated foundries. Driving innovation proposes a mission-driven funding model, a national quantum innovation hub and a coordinated awareness campaign across government and industry. Ensuring responsibility covers governance, standardisation and cybersecurity.
The cybersecurity section is the one closest to Quantasphere’s work. The report calls for a strategic integration of post-quantum cryptography to protect existing digital infrastructure before quantum computers make current encryption readable, and it includes a survey of international quantum-cybersecurity initiatives and transition strategies.
The report was produced with the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Aramco, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.