Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)
The UAE’s experience in digital transformation and the Arab vision for the digital economy received widespread attention during the tour of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy delegation to the People’s Republic of China, as part of a visit aimed at expanding the horizons of Arab-Chinese cooperation in the fields of digital economy and advanced technologies.
The tour included participation in the Digital with Purpose Global Summit, along with a series of official meetings with senior officials in Chinese local governments, including the Honorable Feng Fei, Secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee in Hainan Province, the Honorable Xie Jing, Governor of Hainan Province, Zhang Dengfeng, Member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Committee of Hangzhou City and Vice Mayor of the City, Yang Chao, Deputy Secretary of the Huangpu District Committee of Shanghai City and Mayor of the District, Chen Jie, Secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Jiangmen City and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the City People’s Congress, and Cheng Haitao, Mayor of Yangzhou City, as well as university presidents and leaders of technology companies and investment institutions in eight Chinese cities.
In his keynote address at the summit, His Excellency Counselor Dr. Ali Mohammed Al Khouri affirmed that the UAE has presented a global model in transforming digital transformation into an engine for economic development, government performance efficiency, institutional readiness, and building a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy. He pointed out that what the UAE has achieved places it among the leading global experiences in the digital economy, and one of the models that governments and institutions use as a guide when formulating digital transformation policies and building more competitive and sustainable economies.
He explained that the Arab vision for the digital economy, adopted at the Arab Summit in 2022, and whose projects are overseen by the Arab Federation for Digital Economy, represents a framework for developing the digital economy in the Arab countries and the region, based on implementing regional projects, developing the digital infrastructure, developing human capabilities, and building international partnerships that keep pace with the rapid transformations in technology and the global economy.
The visit included a series of meetings with government leaders and leaders of the Chinese Communist Party in the cities of Shanghai, Hainan, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Jiangmen, Shaoxing and Xinchang, which addressed a number of joint initiatives in the fields of digital economy, artificial intelligence, digital trade and robotics.
The Hangzhou city government, for its part, allocated a headquarters for the Arab Federation for Digital Economy, to be its main headquarters in China, and a center for coordinating its programs and partnerships with governmental, academic and private sector institutions.
The visit extended to the academic sector, as Shenzhen University appointed His Excellency Advisor Dr. Ali Mohammed Al-Khouri as a visiting professor for three years, and South China Agricultural University appointed him as an academic advisor for professional master’s programs, to benefit from his expertise in the fields of digital economy, digital transformation, and public policy development.
The visit also included meetings with a number of major Chinese companies specializing in artificial intelligence, robotics, e-commerce, digital infrastructure, and data centers, which addressed opportunities for cooperation in implementing quality projects within the Arab vision for the digital economy, and benefiting from Chinese expertise in developing technological solutions that respond to the needs of Arab countries.
As part of the visit, the Arab Federation for Digital Economy signed a number of agreements with Chinese government agencies and investment institutions to launch a cooperation program in the robotics sector, aimed at transferring advanced applications to the Arab region, developing joint projects, and opening new avenues for cooperation in future technologies, in line with the digital development priorities in the Arab countries.
His Excellency Advisor Dr. Ali Mohammed Al-Khouri affirmed that the visit represents an important milestone in the path of the Arab-Chinese partnership in the digital economy, noting that the interest shown by government agencies, universities, and Chinese companies in the Emirati experience and the Arab vision for the digital economy confirms the existence of a strong foundation for launching joint projects in advanced technologies, and building a new model of cooperation based on innovation, knowledge transfer, and investment in the economy of the future.
