May 24, 2022: The official delegation of the UAE to The World Economic Forum ‘Davos 2022’ shed light on the unrelenting and continuous efforts made by the UAE in various fields of interest on global level, announcing new initiatives and agreements to further enhance collaboration with WEF in the fields of 4IR and future business models to support start-ups and to better prepare for future digital economy.

Supporting global trade

For his part, H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said in a speech during his participation in the ‘Closing the Trade Finance Gap’ session that the UAE is keen to push the global economic growth to new heights. He said that UAE is committed to supporting efforts to promote global trade and fill funding gaps in trade and export business, and stimulate innovation and growth in the digital economy. H.E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi also added that UAE is keen to create new opportunities based on modern technology to advance the overall global development process and improve the lives of peoples and communities. 

H.E. Dr. Al Zeyoudi discussed the UAE government’s adoption of an ambitious strategy that will enable it to strengthen its foreign trade in accordance with the rapid global changes, to meet the requirements of the next phase in the development process of the country. He also reinforced the country’s goals and position in the future labour market to enhance the competitiveness of the national economy and establishing the country’s leadership in the commercial space.

Enhancing food security

During her participation in a session entitled “Averting a Global Food Crisis”, Her Excellency Maryam Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said that the UAE government is committed to supporting international efforts to enhance global food security and adopt healthy, and sustainable food systems to achieve the goals of comprehensive development and combat hunger in the world, ensuring that the current and future needs of societies are met. 

Almheiri said that the rapid changes taking place in the world require strengthening international cooperation and global partnerships and coordinating efforts to enhance food security and avoid a food crisis that affects all. She added that the need of the hour was to adopt broader concepts and practices of sustainability, and sharing successful experiences and experiences between governments, states and the private sector, in terms of innovative and effective solutions to provide new sources of food based on modern technology to ensure that the needs of current and future generations are met.

Strengthening partnerships in scientific research

During her participation in a dialogue session entitled “Safeguarding Global Scientific Collaboration”, H.E. Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of UAE Council of Scientists, stressed the UAE Government’s keenness to strengthen partnerships and constructive global cooperation in the field of scientific research, because of its positive implications for societies. 

She stressed that the UAE plays a pivotal role in this sector and displayed the achievements of the UAE Council of Scientists, in providing scientific advice to UAE institutions and decision-making centers. 

Her Excellency pointed out the importance of constructive cooperation by sharing the results and outputs of scientific research, which contributes to the development of solutions to current and future challenges and touched on the role of the UAE in sharing the data of the Emirates Mars Mission ‘Hope Probe’ with more than 200 scientific institutions and research centers around the world.

Markets of Tomorrow Initiative

The Forum also saw the UAE government launch the 'Markets of Tomorrow' initiative, in partnership with the World Economic Forum. The initiative aims to develop new business accelerators that will prepare the UAE's national economy to embrace business activities focused on the new economy and enhance its readiness to enter tomorrow's markets, utilizing the latest technological means. 

The launch of the initiative is part of a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between the UAE Ministry of Economy and the World Economic Forum's New Economy and Society Center. The agreement was signed by H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, and Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the World Economic Forum.

The 'Markets of Tomorrow' initiative focuses on launching new accelerators in the UAE government and allocating them to support new business models in the UAE, strengthening the role of startups in the national economy, enabling them to prepare for future digital and technological work that will be part of the post-oil economy, developing a new vision that will be the most important focus of market designer alliances, supporting cooperation and integration between the government and private sectors, and shaping future markets.

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri said that the UAE is entering a new era of development and sustainable progress in accordance with a clear vision and integrated strategies, to provide tools and mechanisms of action to embrace business activities based on the concepts and applications of new economies, and attract startups from regional and international markets, especially those focused on innovation, knowledge and modern technology. He added that the country is committed to encouraging businesses to move to the UAE, reflecting a new economic model developed based on pillars that entrench entrepreneurial thinking in business and provide solutions, learning opportunities and incentives.

Agreement to develop 4IR applications

The UAE government also announced the signing of an agreement with the World Economic Forum in the development of applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in the presence of His Excellency Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, and Jeremy Jurgens - Managing Director & Head of the Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 

H.E. Omar bin Sultan Al Olama stressed that the strategic partnership between the UAE government and the World Economic Forum aims to serve communities by employing artificial intelligence, blockchain and various technologies of the future, and sharing innovative experiences and practices to provide supportive environments for the development of new ideas and projects that accelerate the process of scientific, technological and cognitive progress.

The forum, expected to host more than 2,500 leaders and delegates, including state leaders, business leaders, investors, and decision makers at the international level, coincides with the geopolitical and economic developments across the world that have led to serious challenges on global growth and caused disruption in supply chain. The forum seeks to strengthen international efforts in building understanding and common ground to overcome the current circumstances.