Huawei, a leading global ICT solutions provider, and Zain, a leading telecommunications provider in the Middle East and Africa, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a new network strategy in Saudi Arabia. The aim of the MoU is to accelerate the realization of 5G networks in the Kingdom and assist Zain in building the most advanced end-to-end networks in the region in order to deliver outstanding user experience to customers and improve operational efficiency for organizations.

Under the terms of the agreement, Huawei and Zain will strengthen their existing collaborate on furthering the progress of a number of innovative technologies. The two companies will work together to accelerate the deployment of 4.5 to 5G networks, make further advances towards full cloudification, and produce additional strategy and planning in the field of ICT Synergy Cloud. The two companies will also pool together their market knowledge, sharing insights and business strategies with one another. The ultimate goal is to deliver better user experience and services to their customers in the Kingdom.

Mr. Sultan Abdulaziz AlDeghaither, Acting Chief Operations Officer at Zain Saudi Arabia commented, “Zain Saudi Arabia is pleased to strengthen our existing relationship with Huawei, a powerful partner in the region. Our goal is to always ensure that our customers have access to the latest technology in order to serve them in the best possible way, and we believe that this collaboration will be beneficial to that aim. We are also excited to make further inroads in the cutting-edge field of 5G, an exciting technology with the potential to be a driving force in the digitalization of the Kingdom.”

Mr. Dennis Zhang, CEO of Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia said, “A core pillar of the Huawei way is our belief in open sharing of information, and this MoU is another step on the path to creating a collaborative ICT ecosystem in the Middle East. We hope that through combining our wisdom and know-how with Zain, we can accelerate the realization of 5G networks. 5G has the potential to unlock the power of a flood of new technologies, and it will play a key role in enabling Saudi Arabia to become a knowledge-based economy in line with Saudi Vision 2030. This MoU will ensure that Zain and Huawei remain at the forefront of 5G development in the Middle East.”

This is not the first instance of collaboration between Huawei and Zain. Throughout the Middle East, Huawei and Zain have been strengthening their strategic partnership across various technology initiatives. In 2016, the two companies signed a strategic agreement to enhance the efficiency of the telco’s networks through SDN solutions by the year 2020. In May 2017, Zain and Huawei held the fourth annual Zain-Huawei MBB Summit under the theme of “4G Evolution Towards 5G.” The summit resulted in another strategic MoU between Zain and Huawei promising further collaboration in the field of 5G.