The UAE is set to introduce an artificial intelligence curriculum across all public and private schools while expanding AI-powered decision-making at the highest levels of government, as the country accelerates efforts to prepare its institutions, workforce and economy for a technology-driven future.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired a UAE Cabinet meeting in Abu Dhabi as the government began a new phase of work focused on artificial intelligence, digital transformation, economic resilience and long-term national development.

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The meeting outlined a broad agenda for the UAE Government, with AI emerging as a central pillar of efforts to accelerate decision-making, modernise public services and prepare the country’s workforce and institutions for technological change, a WAM report said.

AI Curriculum set for schools nationwide

The cabinet approved the implementation of an AI curriculum across all public and private schools in the UAE. A pilot programme and evaluation of the curriculum had already delivered positive results in public schools.

The curriculum is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate an AI-driven future. It covers the technical foundations of AI, ethical applications, data, algorithms, practical applications and potential risks.

The government said the initiative reflects the UAE’s drive to develop a generation capable of using emerging technologies while understanding their wider implications. Under an approved international-sharing mechanism, the curriculum and its components will also be made available to the global educational community.

22,000 teachers to receive AI training

Education was a major focus of the Cabinet’s AI agenda, with the government moving to embed AI learning across the UAE’s education system while strengthening teachers’ ability to use the technology.

Sheikh Mohammed said the meeting reviewed the “programme of teachers’ and educators’ capabilities development using artificial intelligence tools,” which aims to train 22,000 teachers and educators to use AI as a support tool in teaching, assessment, curriculum analysis, lesson planning and fostering innovation among students.

“The huge technological transformations of our era will change the reality, processes, and tools of education,” he said.

“To fulfil their new role, teachers will have to become lifelong learners… because if we teach our children today using the same methods of yesterday, we are depriving them of their future.”

UAE seeks global role in AI education

The UAE is among the countries that have developed integrated curricula for teaching AI to students across educational levels, Sheikh Mohammed said.

The Cabinet also approved a mechanism to make the AI curriculum available to ministries of education worldwide, allowing other countries to benefit from the UAE’s experience.

The latest measures underscore the UAE’s broader strategy of integrating AI into education, government and the wider economy as it seeks to build technological capabilities and strengthen its position as a global hub for innovation and digital transformation.

Yango Ride has reported a sharp decline in serious traffic violations and reckless driving incidents across its global operations, as the ride-hailing platform highlighted the impact of its AI-powered safety technologies and anti-fraud systems in its first Safety Report.

The report, covering 2024 and 2025, showed that reported grave traffic violations fell 31 per cent globally, from 9.83 to 6.76 incidents per million trips. Reports of reckless driving also declined across every reporting region, dropping 47 per cent in the Middle East and South Asia, 38 per cent in Africa and 24 per cent in Latin America.

Operating in more than 25 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, Africa, Latin America and South Asia, Yango Ride said an incident or near miss is now reported on average once every 64,000 kilometres travelled.

The company also highlighted the impact of privacy-focused communication tools. In markets where number masking and protected in-app calling have been introduced, post-trip contact between passengers and drivers—a metric linked to off-platform disputes—fell by 81 per cent in Peru, 78 per cent in Colombia and 31 per cent in Pakistan during early 2026.

Yango Ride said its fraud prevention systems blocked 17,275 passenger accounts globally during 2024–2025 after detecting signs of potentially fraudulent or harmful activity, helping protect partner drivers.

Roman Karlash, chief executive of Yango Ride, said: “Yango Ride is a technology service built to make every connection between a passenger and a partner driver safer and more accountable. The results from 2024–2025 show that consistently applied technology—supported by human expertise and local knowledge—can deliver measurable improvements.

“Reported grave traffic violations dropped by 31 per cent globally. Post-trip contacts decreased sharply in markets where we rolled out protected communication. These are not isolated results: they reflect a framework that operates before, during, and after every ride, across every market where we work.”

According to the report, the company’s safety framework begins before a trip through identity verification, driver’s licence checks, recurring selfie verification and anti-fraud systems. During the journey, passengers and drivers can access a Safety Centre featuring route sharing, emergency support and SOS functionality, while AI analyses driving behaviour and GPS data to identify repeated unsafe practices.

Following each trip, both passengers and drivers can submit feedback that contributes to user ratings and helps identify potential safety issues.

Beyond technology, Yango Ride said it continues to work with governments and road safety organisations to strengthen transport safety. In Pakistan, the company has integrated its platform with the Punjab Safe Cities Authority to automatically transmit trip information to police during emergencies. Similar partnerships are in place in Angola, while in Zambia the company has supported school road safety initiatives reaching around 8,000 students.

Yango Ride said it continues to operate a 24/7 urgent support service across all markets, with trained specialists aiming to make first contact within five minutes in 90 per cent of urgent cases globally.

Mars Gulf has partnered with supermarket retailer Choithrams to launch a UAE-wide competition inviting young people to redesign the future of grocery retail, with the winning concept set to be piloted in select stores.

The initiative, titled “It’s MY Z-Store”, challenges UAE residents aged 18 to 24 to develop new retail concepts tailored to Generation Z, covering areas such as store layout, digital experiences, sustainability and community-focused design.

Open to teams of three to four participants, the competition aims to give young innovators hands-on exposure to solving real commercial challenges while working alongside industry leaders.

Ahmed Abdel Wahab, general manager of Mars Gulf, said the initiative recognises the changing expectations of younger consumers.

“The future of retail will be shaped by a generation with very different expectations of how, where and why they shop. Rather than trying to predict what Gen Z wants, we want to give them a seat at the table and the opportunity to show us,” he said.

“Together with our partner Choithrams, we’re creating a platform where fresh thinking can translate into real-world retail innovation, while giving our youth valuable exposure to how ideas move from concept to execution.”

Himani Maharshi, people and organisation director for Mars Middle East & Africa, said the programme is designed to help participants develop workplace skills while contributing ideas for the future of retail.

“This generation doesn’t just want to be marketed to. They want to be involved in shaping what comes next,” she said. “With ‘It’s MY Z-Store,’ we are inviting the next generation to co-create a retail experience that reflects their expectations today, while building the skills and confidence that will support them in the workplace tomorrow.”

According to Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, more than 60 per cent of the Middle East’s population is under the age of 30, while nearly half of UAE residents are between 15 and 35 years old. Mars Gulf said the competition supports the UAE’s We the UAE Vision 2031 by encouraging youth innovation and future-ready skills.

The competition will run through four themed stages linked to Mars brands—Kellogg’s Knockout, Pringles Power-up, Snickers Strategy and the M&M’s Mega Finale—with shortlisted teams receiving mentorship from Mars Gulf and Choithrams executives.

Participants will also compete for bonus “Bounty Coins” through additional challenges before presenting their final concepts to a panel of senior industry leaders.

Unlike a traditional innovation contest, the winning proposal will be refined with support from Mars Gulf and Choithrams before elements are implemented at selected Choithrams stores across the UAE.

The winning team will also receive an all-expenses-paid visit to Mars’ London office, including a factory tour and meetings with the company’s global business teams.

Applications are open until 21 September, with the competition running from September to December 2026.

Digital wealth management platform Sav has partnered with Emirates Gold to introduce an automated recurring investment feature for physically backed gold and silver, expanding its precious metals offering across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK and India.

The new “Recurring Buy” feature allows users to schedule daily, weekly or monthly purchases of UAE-refined gold and silver through the Sav mobile app, enabling systematic investments in precious metals using either a fixed monetary amount or a specified weight.

The partnership brings together Sav’s digital investment platform with Emirates Gold’s refining capabilities, allowing investors to build holdings backed by physical 24k 999.9 pure gold and 999 purity silver refined in the UAE.

Unlike many digital gold offerings, Sav said every transaction is linked to physical bullion stored in secure UAE vaults. Investors receive a unique Vault ID that provides traceability to their holdings and can request physical delivery of their assets at any time through logistics provider Transguard.

Mithil Ajmera, co-founder and COO of Sav, said the partnership combines the convenience of automated investing with the stability of physical asset ownership.

“Given its historic status as a safe-haven asset, gold remains a compelling asset class to diversify portfolios and we are delighted to partner with Emirates Gold to offer physically vaulted, UAE-refined gold,” he said.

“With the launch of Recurring Buy we are combining convenience with the stability of real, physically vaulted asset ownership. Over a 15-year horizon, this disciplined compounding approach can generate approximately three times the value of the initial principal, mitigating the impact of daily price fluctuations.”

Abhijit Shah, CEO of Emirates Gold, said the collaboration supports broader efforts to showcase UAE-refined gold to international investors.

“Emirates Gold has long been a pillar of the region’s gold industry and a proud champion of the ‘Make in Emirates’ vision. Partnering with Sav allows us to offer UAE-refined and vaulted, 999.9 pure gold instantly accessible to global investors who are looking for secure, long-term wealth preservation,” he said.

The launch marks another step in the growing convergence of fintech, digital wealth management and precious metals investing, as platforms increasingly seek to offer retail investors easier access to alternative assets through automated investment tools.

Six commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, down from 11 a day earlier and well below the 10-day average of around 13, preliminary shipping data showed on Thursday.

A very large gas carrier, two long-range fuel tankers, one Supramax tanker and one Panamax tanker entered the strait from the Gulf of Oman, Kpler data showed as of 0405 GMT. A laden VLGC exited the strait into the Gulf of Oman.

The number of vessels transiting the waterway could change as some ships typically switch off transponders during the voyage.

Iran added more ships it deems non-compliant and subject to fines, confiscation or detention if they try to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a government website, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The restricted list includes very large crude carriers, liquefied natural gas and liquefied ⁠petroleum gas tankers, and clean product vessels, among others.

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that an Iranian attack on an oil tanker owned by its national shipping company had killed two Filipino seafarers.

In the Bab el-Mandeb strait, 31 commodity vessels crossed that waterway on Wednesday, the highest number since August 24 and above the 10-day average of 25 vessels, Kpler data showed.

On Tuesday, 17 vessels transited the waterway, the data showed.