In his keynote speech at the Arab Digital Economy Forum, His Excellency Jumaa Muhammad Al Keet, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for the International Trade Affairs Sector, said that “the importance of the digital economy is not hidden today as one of the most important drivers of sustainable development and the future industry. The world today is moving at an accelerating pace towards a new digital revolution that includes various aspects of life.”

His Excellency Jumaa Al-Keet expressed his sincere thanks to the Arab Federation for Digital Economy in the League of Arab States for organizing this forum to discuss the reality of the Arab digital economy, its development trends, and ways of cooperation to accelerate digital transformation and integrate digital economy applications into our development strategies.

His Excellency stressed that the UAE, under the directives of its wise leadership, realized the importance of this trend at an early stage, and adopted a clear vision to build a global competitive economy based on knowledge, innovation and advanced technology, and planned well to become among the most important countries in providing government services in a digital and proactive and innovative ways.

He added, “During the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, we witnessed how the applications of the digital economy and electronic and smart platforms in the UAE played the most prominent role in ensuring the provision of government services and the continuity of activities and business, and accelerating the process of economic recovery, and this reflects the importance of the digital economy in the vision of the state as an essential axis in Government plans to build the economy of the future, which was confirmed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, when he said, “Our next priorities are to develop the contribution of the digital economy to our national economy, consolidate smart infrastructure in the country, and enhance digital readiness. and ensuring business continuity in the UAE government.

His Excellency Al Keet said, “The contribution of the digital economy to the country’s GDP for 2019 amounted to more than 4.3%. The UAE’s interest in this vital sector is manifested by assigning a specialized minister of state to develop this file, as His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, is responsible for working to double the contribution of the digital economy to the country’s GDP.”

He added, “The UAE has made great developmental strides in this vital path, and has many elements of strength that make it one of the leading digital economies in the region and the world today, as it has developed a highly advanced electronic and infrastructure in the information and communications technology sector, and launched the UAE e-Government initiative and then the government And most government institutions have achieved a smart transformation of their services by 100%. Through the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the National Cybersecurity Strategy, we were able to create a secure infrastructure for advanced technologies, such as blockchain technology in financial services and transactions, to enable digital transformation.”

His Excellency Al Keet said, “The state has established a new court specialized in the digital economy to settle and simplify national and international commercial disputes related to the current and emerging digital economy activities, in an initiative that reflects the comprehensive and long-term view adopted by the state of the digital economy. We find the implications of these efforts are clear in the relevant international reports and indicators, where The country ranks first in the world in the use of information and communication technology and government efficiency, first globally in cell phone network coverage, second globally in government procurement of advanced technologies, and fourth globally in the impact of information and communication technology on obtaining and using basic services in business and commercial transactions, first in the Arab world and 14 globally in the index Digital Competitiveness 2020, first in the Arab world, seventh globally in the global telecom infrastructure index, first in the Arab world, and eighth globally in the electronic and smart services index issued byThe United Nations for the year 2020, and the country accounts for more than 70% of the merchandise trade of the Arab countries of goods related to information technology.

He stressed that the digital economy in the UAE is still open to broad prospects for development and progress, and the government’s strategy in this regard is designed to include all economic activities and adopt digital transformation, especially in the areas of e-commerce, digital currencies, financial platforms, digitization of assets, communication services networks, and products. Digital, cloud computing, information security, fourth industrial revolution applications, and others.