Abu Dhabi

The Arab Federation for the Digital Economy, a member of the Executive Office of the Forum of Arab Federations Specialized in the League of Arab States, organized a workshop entitled “Investing in the Digital Economy,” today at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center on the sidelines of the Annual Investment Forum AIM, which is organized by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, and the Department of Industry and Technology. Economic Development in Abu Dhabi, and AIM International.

Haitham Jamal, member of the Arab Federation for the Digital Economy and CEO of Destination, participated in a working paper entitled “Global Cross-Border Trade – A Special Case – The Arab Food Market,” in which he highlighted the importance of finding digital technological solutions to enable the automation of international trade.

The working paper included a presentation of one of the most important pioneering projects to enhance food security in the Arab world by providing a technological platform to facilitate international food trade, which aims to automate procedures and provide financial payment solutions that contribute to reducing costs for merchants.

The Arab Food Market platform is an advanced digital platform that connects the various market components, which include the exporter and seller, the buyer and importer, as well as suppliers of all supporting services, which include “transportation, logistical services, storage, inspection, testing, classification, issuance of certificates, financing, lending, insurance, and customs clearance.” Implementation mechanisms rely on technology. Blockchain, through which financial dues can be transferred according to the agreed-upon contracting mechanism and guaranteed by the platform through an intermediary bank account that allows the payment of amounts according to the completion of work and approvals on the system, to be transferred between digital wallets from the importer to the exporter and other eligible parties.

Salah Al-Ahmad, Director of Projects at the Union, stressed during his discussions at the workshop that food security constitutes one of the biggest challenges facing the Arab region and the world, stressing the importance of economic and investment integration between Arab countries to achieve food security in its various dimensions and components and to deal with the challenges that were reflected in the Arab countries due to international changes. .

He explained that the challenges that will face the Arab food market in the future are climate changes and their impact on food production and the availability of water resources, which requires working to develop and implement new strategies to enhance sustainability and preserve the natural resources important for food production.
Ahmed Ashour, member of the Arab Federation for the Digital Economy and CEO of Intilaaqah, also participated in another working paper entitled “The Future of Digital Education – A Special Case – The Arab Platform for Education and Training,” in which he explained that the Arab Digital University project, which will work as an integrated digital platform for education and training to provide digital educational content to universities. And accredited Arab institutes and training centers at low costs and in different languages ​​via the Internet in accordance with international best practices. The platform will serve as an important and new tool for disseminating science and knowledge to cover the Middle East, North Africa, and West African countries.

The Assistant Secretary-General of the Union, Ayman Ghoneim, noted the agreement with the Association of Arab Universities to allocate the pilot phase for the benefit of Gaza and Sudan of the digital platform in cooperation with the platform’s technological partner.

The digital education platform, in cooperation with the Association of Arab Universities and the Arab Administrative Development Organization, works to enhance continuing education and contribute to achieving sustainable development goals related to human development, through educational paths designed to meet the needs of the labor market, raise the capabilities of university students and graduates, and employees of the Arab world, and support digital transformation in Arab university and educational institutions.