Huawei launched its largest Middle East-based Innovation Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 31, in the presence of H.E. Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Salem Al Ruwais, Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) and H.E. Li Huanxin, the Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Chinese telecommunications colossus Huawei has announced that it has signed a MoU with German city Duisburg in a collaborative effort to develop and subsequently implement a smart city strategy within the city.

Japanese conglomerate NEC Corporation has officially announced that NEC Iberica, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Europe Ltd., and Murcia City, Spain, have signed an agreement to develop an "innovation center" in collaboration with the University of Murcia.

IBM has formally announced the launch of its Innovation and Industry Client Center in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Inaugurated under the patronage of the Abu Dhabi Government, the center aims to fast track the digital transformation of both public and private organizations through advanced technologies in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, blockchain, security, analytics, Internet of Things and quantum computing.