Dubai forms higher committee for future technology and digital economy

Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed will be body's chairman

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, will become chairman of the emirate's higher committee for future technology and digital economy. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Dubai has formed a higher committee for future technology and digital economy as the emirate continues to boost efforts to establish itself as a global hub for the future economy.

The goal of the new body is “to promote Dubai's supremacy in the digital economy globally”, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said in a tweet on Tuesday.

“We are working as a team to enhance Dubai’s position as a global birthplace and research laboratory for future technologies and one of the world’s top 10 metaverse economies, in line with the Dubai Metaverse Strategy,” Sheikh Hamdan, who will be chairman of the committee, said.

The eight-member committee will supervise the implementation of strategies relating the digital economy and future technologies in Dubai, a statement from the Dubai Media Office said.

It will aim to help to shape the future of artificial intelligence by investing in the metaverse and establishing partnerships to boost Dubai’s digital economy.

The move comes a week after Sheikh Hamdan announced the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, which aims to create 40,000 jobs and add $4 billion to the emirate's economy in the next five years.

The metaverse is the emerging digital space in which people, represented by avatars or three-dimensional likenesses, can interact in virtual worlds.

It is part of Web3, the next evolution of the internet, with blockchain, decentralisation, openness and greater user utility among its core components.

The value of the global metaverse market is forecast to exceed $1.6 trillion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of more than 50 per cent, from an estimated $40bn in 2021, according to Canada-based Precedence Research.

The UAE has taken a number of major steps to integrate the metaverse and its related technology — including blockchain, cryptocurrencies and other Web3 innovations — into the economy, government and society.

The new committee will design policies and analyse trends for the digital economy and future technologies, including the metaverse, AI, blockchain, Web3, virtual reality, augmented reality, Internet of Things, data centres and cloud computing in Dubai, the statement said.

It will also seek to attract international companies and conferences specialising in future technologies and the digital economy.

“Dubai is a global test bed for technology and future business models aimed at creating new economic opportunities,” Sheikh Hamdan said.

The emirate is now a “leading global hub for innovative concepts and disruptive economic and technological models, deploying advanced technology in vital sectors to improve people’s standard of living”, he said.

Dubai announced last week it will host its first metaverse industry event in September.

The Dubai Metaverse Assembly will be held on September 28 and 29 at the Museum of the Future and Emirates Towers.

The forum will host an event focused on the metaverse, with local and international leaders attending to discuss its potential.

The UAE is taking several steps to boost its digital economy and make use of the advantages provided by emerging technologies.

This month, the Ministry of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Working System signed a preliminary agreement with blockchain data platform Chainalysis to provide virtual training programmes for government entities.

In May, Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (Vara) said it had entered into the metaverse with the establishment of its Metaverse HQ, making it the first regulator to have a presence there.

Vara was established by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, in March under the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law, the first such law in the emirate.

The body aims to create an advanced legal framework to protect investors and provide international standards for virtual asset industry management to enable responsible business growth in the emirate.