The Impact of Digitization to Ensure Competitiveness of the Ha’il Region to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that seek to achieve sustainable development through Vision 2030. The objective of this research is to study the impact of digitization to ensure the competitiveness of the Ha’il region to achieve sustainable development goals. To do this, we applied two techniques in two steps. The first step is based on artificial intelligence through a machine learning technique. The second step is the vector auto-regressive model and impulse response functions. The results show that digitization has a strong impact on the achievement of five sustainable development goals in the Ha’il region. These five priority objectives among 17 goals have been determined by a machine learning technique, each of which is likely to contribute in one way or another to economic, social, and environmental aspects. The results suggest that digitization promotes the acceleration of sustainable development in the Ha’il region. This study is interesting for policymakers in Saudi Arabia to use artificial intelligence and digitalization to achieve economic unification of this region with other regions of the Kingdom.