Bahrain iGA and Saudi SDAIA Sign Strategic Agreement to Advance Cross Border Collaboration in Data Governance and Large Language Models
MANAMA / RIYADH — The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) has entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), formalizing a comprehensive framework to advance technical integration, knowledge exchange, and collaborative research and development in data science and artificial intelligence across both nations.
The bilateral agreement was formally signed by Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, Chief Executive of the Information and eGovernment Authority, and Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi, President of SDAIA. The signing ceremony was attended by senior leadership from both authorities, including Latifa Mohammed Al Abbasi, Director of Innovation and Advanced Technologies at the iGA, and Abdullah Al Khodairi, Chief Executive of the Strategy Management Office at SDAIA.
Under the provisions of the agreement, the two regulatory authorities will establish structured channels to exchange technical expertise, benchmark national data governance policies, and coordinate investments in shared artificial intelligence infrastructure. A major operational focus of the partnership involves the cooperative development, adaptation, and testing of Large Language Models (LLMs) tailored to regional dialectical nuances, public sector compliance standards, and sovereign data residency mandates.
The collaboration outlines several operational focus areas:
Joint applied research projects and the co development of proof of concept prototypes addressing shared municipal and governmental service challenges.
The formalization of shared national data governance best practices, data classification standards, and cross border data flow interoperability.
Specialized human capital development through joint executive and engineering training programs designed to upskill national talent across both kingdoms.
Coordinated exploration of responsible artificial intelligence deployment frameworks to safeguard public trust while accelerating administrative digitization.
Mohammed Ali Al Qaed affirmed that the agreement cements historical bilateral relations while aligning the future tech ambitions of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. He noted that the initiative comes at a critical juncture marked by accelerating artificial intelligence capabilities, allowing both entities to pool compute resources and technical capital to convert emerging technologies into high impact public sector applications.
Dr. Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi reiterated that the alliance represents a significant step toward developing sovereign Gulf innovation pipelines, creating responsible AI deployments that raise the quality of eGovernment services, optimize operational efficiency, and advance sustainable digital transformation across the region.
