UAE economy aims to be at forefront of technological revolution: ADGM chairman

Abu Dhabi: The UAE’s economic diversification will entail the use of some of the latest technologies and innovations as it aims to be at the forefront of global competitiveness, said Ahmad Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

Al Sayegh was speaking at the inaugural Digital Summit being held in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, which brought together leading policymakers and business executives to discuss the latest developments in the field of digitisation and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across multiple sectors.

“The rise of new technologies like AI, fintech and quantum computing is paving the way towards a new world order, and the UAE is taking several strides to be at the forefront of change,” Al Sayegh said.

“At ADGM, we believe in building for a purpose and seizing opportunities produced by technology and digitisation. The region — in particular the GCC — will be the gateway from which three billion people will benefit from the financial and technological innovations we are pioneering,” he added.

“By adopting the latest technologies and modernising our policies we have been successfully attracting global companies here to establish their business and grow right from the heart of Abu Dhabi,” he said.

ICE Futures Abu Dhabi

Al Sayegh also spoke positively on the newly launched ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) at ADGM, which will host the official price listing of Adnoc’s Murban crude oil next year.

“The trading of the Murban crude oil contracts will be the biggest change in the Middle East crude pricing mechanism in years … These developments mark a new beginning to the derivatives and commodity landscape in the UAE and wider Middle East and Africa region. “[This was made] possible because Adnoc was bold enough to change its pricing policy from its previous retro active pricing to this new market driven approach … [becoming] the first company to do this in our region,” he added.

The new pricing mechanism, announced back in November by the Supreme Petroleum Council, is expected to start listing Murban crude on IFAD between the second and third quarters of 2020.

Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, said the UAE aimed to be among the world’s top leaders in the field of AI in the next 10 years, highlighting the UAE’s success in AI across several different fields. “Some may say that the UAE might not have what it takes to lead the AI revolution globally, and to those I say you need to look at sectors such as logistics, tourism, infrastructure and air travel to understand that the UAE does not just say certain things; but makes it happen.

“We did not invent the aeroplane, maritime trade and tourism and we did not have any of the fundamental cornerstones to make the UAE a leader in these sectors, but today because of the vision and drive of our leadership we were able to become leaders in these sectors,” he added.