UAE to create new task force for digital economy, minister says

At GITEX Global Leaders Vision, the Minister of Economy announced that the UAE will set up a task force to develop a new economy structure for 2050-2060.

Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, who spoke at the Vision UAE day of the conference, said government and business leaders need to think beyond the pandemic to a digital economy fueled by imagination. He said that talent would fuel the future economy and that the UAE had demonstrated its resilience and promise by delivering a 13 per cent increase in exports in 2020 compared to 2019, despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Minister confirmed that key B2B cross-national discussions are taking place at Expo 2020 Dubai with digitalisation, diversification and tourism dominating agendas.

GITEX Global Leaders Vision also heard that the UAE Government is looking to the private sector to contribute 50 per cent to the upstream development of its 2030 mission to explore Venus and the Asteroid Belt. Ibrahim Al Qasim, executive director, Space Sector, UAE Space Agency, said the next space race would be fought by the private sector, with governments providing investment and regulations to mitigate risks and enable critical innovation.

The summit also revealed that the Abu Dhabi Investment Office attracted eight major ICT players to the Emirate this year. Souad Al Hosani, acting director of Investor Care, said the Emirate is prioritising public-private sector co-operation and proved an abundance of opportunities by lifting inward FDI by 44 per cent last year compared to 2019, despite the pandemic.

Read: Data-driven economy at GITEX Global