ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
TRENDS Research and Advisory, in partnership with the Information and Decision Support Centre of the Egyptian Cabinet, organised a high-level symposium entitled, "Between Innovation and Development Impact: The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Accelerating the Development Agenda."
The event brought together ministers, senior officials, and experts and was held at the Information and Decision Support Centre's headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, Cairo.
Participants included Dr. Mohamed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of the UAE Government Cybersecurity Council; Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al Ali, CEO of TRENDS Research and Advisory; Professor Dr. Osama El Gohary, Assistant to the Prime Minister and Head of the Information and Decision Support Centre; Engineer Hassan El Khatib, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade; Ambassador Abu Bakr Hefny, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration, and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs; Dr. Abdullah Al Kaabi, Senior Director of Technology Consulting at PwC Middle East; Dr. Ahmed Tantawy, Supervisor of the Applied Innovation Centre at Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; and Engineer Tarek Shabaka, Chairman of the Board of the Mideast Communication Systems (MCS).
Speakers at the symposium emphasised that AI is no longer a technical option or an economic luxury.
It has become a strategic pillar for reshaping development pathways and strengthening the ability to address accelerating economic and social challenges.
They stressed that the actual value of these technologies lies in integrating them into comprehensive national visions, flexible legislative frameworks, and evidence-based public policies that place people at the centre of digital transformation.
They also noted that accelerating development impact requires effective partnerships between governments, the private sector, think tanks, and research institutions to ensure that knowledge is translated into actionable decisions. Such cooperation, they added, turns AI into a genuine driver of sustainable development, a catalyst for regional integration, and a pathway toward a more prosperous and inclusive future.
Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Chairman of the Cybersecurity Council of the Government of the UAE, said that the world is living through a period of constant change marked by growing technical and technological demands. This reality has elevated cybersecurity to a core pillar and a key national asset, especially amid the rapid acceleration of AI technologies.
He explained that the UAE’s national cybersecurity strategy is built around five main pillars, starting with governance, laws, and policies. Building human and technical capacities is another pillar, he said. The third is creativity and innovation, as the goal is not to be mere users of technology but active producers and contributors to it.
He noted that the fourth pillar focuses on protection and defense, as countries and societies must safeguard digitally transforming systems, particularly in health, energy, and education. The fifth pillar, he added, is partnerships, emphasising that countries cannot confront technological challenges without cooperation and consultation, and the exchange of expertise.
Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al Ali stressed that AI is no longer merely a technical tool or a specialised research field. It has become a driving force reshaping economies, redefining production, reengineering value chains, and shaping the future of work and development. He noted that the world has already entered an intense race to own and localise AI applications, not only to enhance competitiveness but also to secure long-term economic and social sustainability.
He explained that AI offers countries unprecedented opportunities to overcome traditional structural challenges across areas such as smart agriculture, manufacturing, cross-border trade, digital services, and sustainable urban planning.
At the same time, it places significant responsibilities on governments to build human capacities, develop legislative frameworks, ensure digital equity, and prevent the emergence of new development gaps.
Engineer Hassan El Khatib, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, stated that the world is witnessing a historic transformation driven by AI. He noted that the United States and China currently lead the field, while the UAE ranks third globally. He warned that countries that fail to secure a place in this transformation risk falling far behind, as ownership of technology and core tools is what ultimately determines who will shape the future of artificial intelligence.
He added that five key elements define a country’s ability to benefit from artificial intelligence: energy, infrastructure, chips, models, and applications.
He highlighted the UAE's advanced experience in smart investment in artificial intelligence, noting that it is among the leading countries regionally and globally in digital transformation and in harnessing advanced technologies to support sustainable development.
He also noted that Egypt has launched a digital investment platform that enables investors to interact with a single unified government platform to obtain services.
This platform, he explained, uses AI tools to expand service delivery and reduce burdens. He added that Egypt is working to establish a similar unified digital platform for trade, linking investors with commercial representation offices and executive entities within an integrated digital ecosystem.
Dr. Osama El Gohary said that the real challenge of AI does not lie in its ability to increase efficiency or eliminate specific jobs, but rather in the speed of transformation itself. Technology, he explained, is advancing faster than societies and labor markets can adapt, and the time lag between innovation and institutional and social absorption represents the core risk, as it opens the door to economic and social imbalances.
He added that preparing for the future of AI has become primarily a governance and development issue, not a separate technical matter. The challenge facing governments is not simply adopting tools, but building the institutional capacity to manage them. he noted that investment and trade policies represent key instruments for early preparedness for AI-driven transformations.
El Gohary emphasised that discussions on AI are directly linked to investment incentives, the quality of targeted investments, and connecting capital attraction with skills development and technology transfer. This approach, he said, ensures that transformation enhances both competitiveness and sustainable development.
Ambassador Abu Bakr Hefny stated that the latest data indicate that countries worldwide are expected to invest around $1.3 trillion in digital infrastructure by 2030 to achieve industrial sovereignty.
He noted that Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs plays multiple roles to maximise the benefits of partnerships with Europe and the United States in supporting African renewable energy capabilities and the establishment of data centres.
Dr. Abdullah Al Kaabi said that AI technologies should be approached not merely as technical tools, but through the development impact they deliver by boosting productivity, improving services, and enabling more precise resource allocation. He added that Egypt and the UAE have significant potential to create a shared space for AI cooperation, enabling both countries to export ready-to-deploy technological capabilities and solutions eventually.
He pointed out that recent studies indicate the impact of AI on the Middle East could reach $320 billion by 2030.
The UAE, he noted, could achieve an effect equivalent to nearly 14 percent of its 2030 GDP, while Egypt could see an impact of about $42.7 billion, representing 7.7 percent of its 2030 GDP.
These figures, he said, confirm that the opportunity is shared and that cooperation can turn potential impact into a tangible development and economic pathway.
Dr. Ahmed Tantawy said it is essential to raise awareness of the importance of new technologies in production and development, rather than limiting their use to chat applications and similar tools. He explained that over the past six years, the ministry has successfully developed technological solutions that improve government performance through advanced technologies.
Engineer Tarek Shabaka said that AI applications now offer multiple opportunities to develop new technological products that support various fields of work. He highlighted significant advancements in the medical sector worldwide, driven by AI technologies that diagnose patients, reduce medical errors, detect diseases, and support research into the latest treatments.