Dubai

During the activities of the second day of the Digital Economy Technologies Conference and Exhibition “Seamless Middle East 2024”, Ambassador Mohamed Khair Abdul Qader, Secretary General of the Arab Federation for the Digital Economy, began his speech by thanking the attendees of the largest conference and exhibition in the Middle East and North Africa, offering sincere thanks and appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect and preserve him, for sponsoring the Arab vision for the digital economy. He also thanked Lt. General His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of the United Arab Emirates, and Supreme President of the Arab Federation for the Digital Economy for his support. Continuous, directing him to do everything that serves joint Arab action and our field of work in the digital economy.

He added, “It is certain that the world is witnessing major changes and transformations with this great technological boom in the digital revolution, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and the increasing use of technology in people’s lives through tremendous scientific and technological development, which works to improve the performance of institutions and companies, and through the process of transforming the model and business of institutions.” The government, business sector and private sector companies are moving towards a model based on digital technologies in providing services, which works to improve the quality of performance in various sectors.

There is no doubt that digital transformation helps grow the economy in countries, improves the quality of life, and supports citizens’ access to services easily and in a short time. Digital transformation allows information to work with greater transparency and efficiency, or what is called government governance, and the digital sector in Arab economies. It is increasing, thanks to the investments made by Arab countries to enhance digital and electronic services by transforming the government into an interconnected government, and by linking government digital systems and improving work within the state’s administrative apparatus so that it works efficiently and effectively.

The Arab Federation for the Digital Economy has a rich record of achievements and initiatives within the framework of digital transformation, as it prepared the Arab Vision for the Digital Economy, which was welcomed by the Arab Summit in Algeria in the year (2022), and it is a platform to support Arab food security. The Federation also periodically follows the Arab Economy Index. Digital, and launched the “One Million Arab Digital Entrepreneurs” initiative, and has a major award, which is the Arab Award for the Digital Economy. The Union continues to work on implementing many activities, programs and initiatives that aim to activate the role of modern technology in the digital economy in order to achieve the ambitions of the Arab countries and support the priorities of the economy. Digital in the Arab region in light of the rapid development witnessed by the digital economy globally.

The “Seamless 2024” conference and exhibition is one of the important global events, and it addresses many topics related to the Arab vision of the digital economy, such as: electronic payments, electronic and digital commerce, digital identity, financial technology, banking services, electronic marketing, digital currencies, and others.

I would like to point out here some of the initiatives that the Arab Federation for the Digital Economy is working on, such as: the digital food market platform, the digital education and training platform, the initiative to qualify one million Arab entrepreneurs, the Arab Index for the Digital Economy, and the Arab Award for the Digital Economy.

We can also congratulate the United Arab Emirates on topping the index for the fourth consecutive cycle, as well as the results, recommendations and analyzes that were made in the index, which may guide decision-making towards the compass of progress and leadership in the digital economy, as will be done in this cycle (2024). Announcing the results of the Arab Digital Economy Index, the initiative of the Arab and Islamic Center for Joint Scientific Research, in partnership with the British Institute of Technology, and the launch of the Arab Program for Artificial Intelligence Applications in cooperation with international investment groups.