Huawei to boost Malawi’s digital transformation

Huawei is significantly contributing to Malawi’s digital transformation through its comprehensive Smart Village Program, which aims to bridge the digital divide in rural areas. This program integrates smart agriculture technologies, expands access to financial services, and enhances education and healthcare through digital solutions.

As part of this initiative, Huawei will establish technical training centres in rural regions to equip young people with crucial digital skills in AI, cybersecurity, and smart agriculture. That effort is a key component of Huawei’s larger $430 million investment plan for Africa, which includes funding for cloud development, talent development, and long-term technological progress.

The initiative supports Malawi’s MW2063 agenda, which envisions transforming the country into an industrialised upper-middle-income nation by 2063. It also builds on previous collaborations, such as the launch of Malawi’s National Data Centre in 2022, marking a significant advancement in the nation’s digital infrastructure.

In addition to Malawi, Huawei’s regional impact extends to other African countries, including Zambia and Uganda, where it is involved in smart village projects, and Kenya, where it contributes to smart city initiatives. These efforts aim to enhance connectivity and drive technological innovation across the continent.

Huawei Cloud launches AI innovations in Saudi Arabia

Huawei Cloud introduced advanced AI technologies at the Saudi Arabia 2024 Summit, aiming to accelerate the country’s digital transformation and support Vision 2030. This new infrastructure promises ultra-low latency and robust AI model training and inference capabilities, enhancing various sectors nationwide. The company is also the first cloud provider in Saudi Arabia to fully comply with local data security policies, ensuring high levels of data protection and aligning with the country’s digital sovereignty strategy.

The impact of Huawei Cloud is significant, with a tenfold increase in public cloud revenue over the past year. It serves a diverse client base, including government bodies, telecom carriers, FinTech firms, and media organisations, highlighting its role in the digital economy. Sector-specific solutions include supporting smart city projects for the government, market expansion for local e-commerce businesses like Zode, and advanced digital banking services.

Technological innovations, such as the Pangu model and CodeArts, drive industry advancements and accelerate software development. Additionally, Huawei Cloud invests in the local ecosystem by training over 3,000 university students and partnering with over 100 local businesses, fostering a thriving digital landscape in Saudi Arabia

Kuwait Diplomatic Institute: Executive training in Diplomatic Negotiations and AI and Diplomacy

New digital technologies have had, and will continue to have, a profound impact on both the practice and content of diplomacy. The digital ecosystem in which diplomats operate nowadays offers new opportunities but also challenges traditional organisational structures.

The in situ Executive Training in Diplomatic Negotiations and AI and Diplomacy for the participants from the Saud N. Al-Sabah Kuwait Diplomatic Institute will take place between the 22 and 26 April 2024.

The goal of the training is to equip diplomats to deal with the changes and challenges imposed by digital technologies and to turn them into opportunities that will help them pursue their countries’ foreign policy goals. By the end of this training, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the most recent developments in AI tools and learn how to use them in their daily work.

The training will be based around the following topics:

AI and diplomacy
How to use big data in analysis and policymaking, and how to effectively use AI tools in daily work. At the end of this session, participants will understand geopolitical and practical aspects of using AI in diplomacy.
Diplomatic negotiations
Skills and strategies that enable diplomats to engage effectively with their counterparts and other stakeholders. At the end of this session, participants will understand the basic concepts, tools and techniques to become successful negotiators and influencers in diplomatic settings.