Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)
Dubai
The “Seamless Middle East 2026” Conference and Exhibition kicked off in Dubai today, Tuesday, under the patronage of H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Supreme President of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy. The event is being held with the participation of government, diplomatic, and institutional representatives from across the Arab region and internationally, alongside the announcement of the results of the new edition of the Arab Digital Economy Index 2026, with the UAE ranking first in the Arab world.
The event is taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 22 to 24 September, bringing together the payments, fintech, banking, digital commerce, retail, digital identity, and logistics sectors. The event comes at a time of accelerating developments driven by artificial intelligence, data, and the evolving nature of financial and commercial services, with more than 25,000 participants, around 800 speakers, and 750 exhibitors.
The opening session on the first day witnessed broad Arab diplomatic participation, including ambassadors and representatives from Egypt, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Mauritania, Tunisia, Syria, Djibouti, and Palestine, alongside Russian representation and participation from international and regional institutions. Officials from government, economic, financial, and academic entities in the UAE also attended.
The diverse participation reflected the growing interest in the digital economy beyond the technology sector itself, with representatives from the finance, energy, customs, and economic development sectors, in addition to banking institutions, chambers of commerce, research and innovation centers, and international organizations.
The opening programme included an address by H.E. Advisor Dr. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Chairman of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy and Advisor to the Council of Arab Economic Unity, followed by the launch of the Arab Digital Economy Index 2026. The programme then featured addresses by officials from the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park and the UAE Banks Federation, before the delegations proceeded on a tour of the exhibition halls.
The UAE ranked first in the Arab world in the Index, which measures the performance of Arab countries across a range of indicators related to digital infrastructure, institutions, skills, innovation, markets, and the ability to derive economic value from technology.
The results of the Arab Digital Economy Index 2026 showed varying levels of digital performance among Arab countries, with countries distributed across three main groups.
The UAE led the group of highest-performing countries, followed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman in the first group. The second group included countries with medium levels of performance, namely Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria. The third group, comprising countries still building their digital foundations, included Lebanon, Mauritania, Iraq, Djibouti, Comoros, Libya, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen.
The overall findings showed that Arab progress was more evident in digital infrastructure, government services, and cybersecurity, while larger gaps remained in innovation, the data economy, research and development, and the ability of economies to translate digital investment into productivity and economic value.
In his address, Dr. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri said that the new edition of the Index places digital sovereignty at the heart of the discussion on the future of Arab economies, as data, artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, semiconductors, and cybersecurity have become essential elements of countries’ economic and institutional capabilities.
Regarding the UAE’s leading position in the results, Al Khouri said this reflects a long-term path of investment in digital infrastructure, government services, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and the knowledge-based economy, noting that the UAE experience offers an important model for investing in an economy built on innovation, productivity, and economic value.
He expressed his appreciation to the UAE for its support of the Arab digital economy, and conveyed his deep appreciation to H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for his support and patronage of the Arab Digital Economy Vision initiative, which has contributed to advancing Arab efforts and encouraging countries in the region to establish a joint Arab path in this field.
He also praised the continued support and follow-up of H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Supreme President of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy, affirming that this support has contributed to transforming a number of Arab initiatives from ideas and strategies into practical programmes, platforms, and projects.
Abu Dhabi witnessed the launch of the Arab Digital Economy Vision in 2018, with the support and patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, before it was adopted at the Arab leaders’ level in 2022, providing an Arab framework for cooperation in the fields of the digital economy and technological transformation.
The Arab Digital Economy Index is one of the tools developed by the Federation to measure the progress of this transformation and identify gaps and future priorities.
The announcement of the Index results comes at a time when the global economy is undergoing broad transformation driven by artificial intelligence, digital commerce, automation, and robotics. These developments are reshaping production, markets, value chains, and the nature of work, prompting governments and international institutions to reconsider policies related to growth, education, investment, and regulatory frameworks.
Over its three-day programme, Seamless Middle East 2026 is hosting international discussions on the future of fintech, digital payments, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, with the participation of government entities, financial institutions, technology companies, investors, and experts from the region and around the world.
