Abdulaziz Al Hammadi: The growth of the digital sector by 20% contributes to increasing global production by an average of 4.3 trillion dollars annually within five years

Abdulaziz Al-Hammadi, Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab Federation for the Digital Economy of the Council of Arab Economic Unity in the League of Arab States, expected that the growth of the global digital sector by 20% will contribute to increasing global production at an average of about $4.3 trillion annually over five years (2020-2025).

During his participation in the Kuwait exhibition and conference – the most important technology event in the State of Kuwait that brings together the elements of industry and the field in one platform to influence and inspire emerging companies and solution providers in all sectors – he explained that the revenues of digital platforms between companies and consumers reached $ 3.8 trillion in 2019 Globally, Asia and the Pacific accounted for about 48% of the total, which is equivalent to 6% of the region’s GDP.

He noted that these numbers are expected to have increased significantly in 2020, as more business transactions migrate; Such as: transportation, food delivery, and e-commerce to the digital space, amid restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the emerging corona virus pandemic.

During his speech, he continued, “It is here that governments in the region can benefit from the emerging digital economy and reap its benefits through policies and reforms to improve digital infrastructure.”

The Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab Federation for the Digital Economy has set mechanisms for benefiting from the emerging digital economy in the time of Corona, which are: promoting fair competition, improving business facilitation processes, enhancing work security measures, and social protection for compatibility with digital jobs, with a focus on data privacy and security, Strengthening partnerships between public and private institutions, and regional cooperation.

During his speech, he stressed: “Now more than ever we need to work together with governments, companies of all sizes and talented youth to break down barriers to accessing new digital systems, where digital inclusion is the solution.”

He added that this can be achieved by enhancing and developing the digital skills of society and helping countries that are struggling to adopt transformative digital trends, as the digital economy has emerged as the only real beneficiary of the economic collapse during 2020, for providing bright prospects, especially in sectors such as retail and energy. manufacturing, healthcare and entertainment, which may contribute to the region’s economic growth and rapid recovery.

Al Hammadi noted the need to implement policies and regulations that manage disruptions and maximize gains from the booming digital economy, noting that these gains will be achieved through enhanced regional cooperation.

He explained that governments are launching many initiatives to benefit small and medium enterprises from digital transformation, but this type of projects is behind in digital transformation, and most of them ignore the potential benefits in productivity and competitiveness resulting from relying on digital technologies, and their needs cannot be clearly defined or may not be Having sufficient physical capabilities to access and use digital tools, the digital divide for SMEs slows productivity growth and widens inequality between individuals and companies.

He emphasized that with SMEs being the bulk, massive adoption of digital technologies will lead to a historic shift in overall productivity and wellbeing in countries, regions and societies to enable SMEs to catch up, so there is a need to invest in skills, organizational change, innovation process, new systems and business models.

In the same context; The Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab Federation for the Digital Economy added that the Federation has taken it upon itself to support, update and develop legislative and legal frameworks to contribute to the development of technological infrastructure in the countries of the region, promote the knowledge-based economy and help small and medium-sized companies to be part of digital inclusion frameworks, e-government practices and government services Smart, to reach an Arab economy that is driven and digitally enabled, and push the region towards a sustainable, inclusive and secure digital future to create a strong and integrated innovative Arab society, as well as to be the influential partner in building sustainable and prosperous digital economies that positively affect the quality of life for citizens in the Arab world.

He went on to say: “This noble vision would not have been more realistic unless there was a leader who looks to the future, cares about developing the Arab region and leads it to prosperity and glory as in the past, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, to support this The vision and message are not only for Arabs, but also to inspire those who wish to follow it in the spirit of unity, achievement and common goals.”

During his speech, he stressed that the team of the Council of Arab Economic Unity in the League of Arab States and the founding members of the union had enjoyed great support from Lieutenant-General His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, whose faith and trust were motives for presenting the vision and implementing it in all its positive aspects for the benefit of Arab societies. This is evident in His Highness’s saying at each meeting: “We in the United Arab Emirates continue the path of Zayed the Founding Father,” as we work with many governments to exchange experiences and align a common vision for a brighter future.

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