Representatives from Korean IT giant Naver are accompanying the land minister on a trip to Saudi Arabia this week to pitch not only its staple internet and cloud services, but also a whole building filled with its latest technology.  As the IT company aims to bid for a $500 billion city development project in Saudi Arabia, its new office building — named Naver 1784 — is now doubling as a technology showroom.
 
Naver is one of the companies accompanying Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong’s trip to Saudi Arabia, seeking to participate in the Middle Eastern country’s massive NEOM smart city project. The delegation departed on Friday and will return on Nov. 9. 

The Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF), the action-oriented platform shaping the global cybersecurity agenda, will welcome over 4,500 attendees from over 110 countries at The Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh, from November 9 to 10.

Aiming to leverage the opportunities of an evolving global cyber order, GCF is bringing together the best minds to advance the cybersecurity agenda and grasp its benefits. Over the two-day event founded by the National Cybersecurity Authority, GCF will convene over 120 speakers from across the globe to discuss the most pertinent cyber issues of the day.

Volocopter, a company specializing in urban air mobility (UAM), has raised an additional $182 million in the second signing of its Series E funding round.

Alexandra Cousteau, who is known as an expert in environmental issues and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, made her remarks during a panel discussion at the sixth edition of Future Investment Initiative (FII6) in Riyadh on Wednesday.

“They’re putting 95 percent of NEOM as a nature reserve — both in land and ocean — and that’s an extraordinary piece of leadership and example for the rest of the world,” she said.

The Bahrain national beach soccer team defeated their Saudi visitors in two of the four friendly matches held at the Federation Beach Field in Isa Town. The other two games were drawn. The nations organised the matches as part of their preparation for the upcoming NEOM Beach Soccer Cup 2022 in Saudi Arabia in November. The competition will run from November 9-12 and will feature eight teams: Bahrain, Brazil, England, Paraguay, Japan, UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The futuristic NEOM project is a key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program to boost and diversify its economy, according to the Vision 2030 website. NEOM and its three so-called ‘regions,’ the Line, OXAGON, and TROJENA, are to be built on 26,500 square kilometers (10,230 square miles) in northwestern Saudi Arabia and will introduce a new model of urban sustainability where residents “will embrace a culture of exploration, risk-taking and diversity.”