By Aziz El Yaakoubi

RIYADH (Reuters – Saudi Arabia announced Tuesday that it has made investments of $6.4 billion to future technologies. The announcement was made by the Saudi minister in communication technology. It comes as Saudi Arabia tries diversify its economy away from oil and faces fierce competition.

Rich Gulf countries launched efforts to promote non-oil economic growth and decrease dependence as pressure has mounted on the government’s finances due to volatility in oil prices and climate change campaigners.

Already, the kingdom announced that it will invest hundreds of billions in an economic transformation known as Vision 2030 led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, its de facto ruler.

Two billion dollars was announced Tuesday by eWTP Arabia Capital. This joint venture is backed Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund, The Public Investment Fund. Alibaba (NYSE:), and China’s J&T Express Group, minister Abdullah Alswaha said.

Saudi Oil giant Aramco will infuse $1 billion via Prosperity7 Ventures to support entrepreneurs around the world. Saudi Telecom Co will also invest $1 billion into the infrastructure for submarine cables and data centers, said he.

According to Alswaha, “Right now the digital and tech market in the kingdom amounts to around $40Billion. This is the highest in the region.” Alswaha stated that the region has seen significant growth in the areas of ecommerce, gaming, and digital content.