DGDA signs MoU with KACST to enhance artifact recovery efforts

The Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) signed a strategic cooperation agreement on Monday.

The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation in data and information governance and the facilitatation of knowledge exchange, as well as sharing of industry knowledge and insights, and consultation across areas in which both parties are active. The agreement was signed by His Excellency the President of KACST, Dr. Munir M. Eldesouki, and Mr. Jerry Inzerillo, the CEO of DGDA.

As part of the agreementDGDA and KACST will explore joint research projects, as well as cooperate on on aerial photography, three-dimensional (3D) imaging, and radar scanning efforts to improve understanding of the buried and subterranean areas within DGDA’s supervisory area, focusing specifically on artifacts of the early Saudi states. The agreement will also see collaboration in advanced material technologies and automated building systems supporting DGDA in managing its supervisory area better.

According to Mr. Inzerillo, this agreement opens the doors on a new world that has potentially remained buried for centuries, and could help expand and improve our understanding of different aspects of the area. This is especially important given DGDA’s mandate and focus on not only improving the quality of life for citizens, residents and visitors today and in the future, but also preserving the history, heritage and culture of Diriyah.

For his part, Eldesouki stressed that KACST actively builds partnerships with the public, private and non-profit sectors to ensure the application of scientific and technical outputs and achieve the leadership’s aspirations in the transformation of an innovation-based economy, to serve the development projects and work that the Diriyah Gate Development Authority is undertaking, in a way that contributes to preserving the historical and cultural heritage of Diriyah and applying higher Sustainability standards in light of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision.