- At Gitex Global 2025, UAE Minister of Economy Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri affirmed that artificial intelligence (AI) is a matter of national sovereignty, requiring a budget equivalent to defense and cybersecurity. He emphasized: “AI is the sovereignty of every nation. Just as you spend on defense or cybersecurity, you must also spend on AI.”
- This view reflects the AI strategy integrated by the UAE into national policy, including economic diversification, public services, and legal frameworks, to reduce oil dependence.
- The non-oil economy currently accounts for 77.3% of the UAE’s GDP, up from 69% five years ago. The goal is to reach 80% in the next five years, with key drivers coming from finance, manufacturing, and technology.
- The IMF forecasts the UAE’s non-oil GDP to grow by 4.5% in 2025, thanks to trade, logistics, and foreign investment.
- The Ministry of Economy has applied AI in its operations, for example: the trademark registration system uses AI to check for duplicates in milliseconds, instead of days as before.
- The government has also amended the Commercial Transactions Law, incorporating AI into the legal framework – a step forward in institutionalizing artificial intelligence.
- Al Marri called talent the “oil of the economy,” considering it a core factor for AI development. The UAE has expanded long-term visas, established the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), and entered the Top 5 global AI markets according to LinkedIn 2024.
- AI data centers are being powered by renewable and nuclear energy, led by Masdar and ENEC, aiming for 2030.
- The UAE is collaborating with Oracle, Siemens, Huawei, and G42 to expand AI capabilities in parallel with energy efficiency. Al Marri stated: “The UAE doesn’t build walls, we build bridges. Use the UAE as a global bridge.”
- He also warned that AI will change the labor market but will create new opportunities like previous industrial revolutions. The biggest challenge currently is internal readiness – systems, skills, and domestic AI infrastructure.
📌 UAE’s Minister of Economy affirms that artificial intelligence is a matter of national sovereignty, requiring a budget equivalent to defense and cybersecurity. The government has also amended the Commercial Transactions Law, incorporating AI into the legal framework. With a non-oil economy reaching 77.3% of GDP, a global talent strategy, and clean energy for AI infrastructure, the UAE asserts its pioneering role but also warns that AI will transform the labor market.
