BATOOL GHAITH (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi is setting a benchmark for cities, Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Department of Municipalities and Transport, said during LIVEX 2026 on Thursday.
Speaking on the third day of the event, held under the theme “The Committed City”, Al Shorafa said Abu Dhabi’s approach is built around integrating physical infrastructure, digital systems, data and regulation around the needs of communities.
“We have to take a benchmark for ourselves. Other cities and countries are going to benchmark themselves to us,” Al Shorafa said.
Speaking during the panel “Two systems, one city” alongside Ahmed Tamim Hisham Al Kuttab, Chairman of the Department of Government Enablement, Abu Dhabi, he said the city’s physical infrastructure is increasingly being supported by digital capabilities and data that allow government to plan more proactively.
“Without data, we cannot manage anything,” he noted, adding that Abu Dhabi is increasingly using artificial intelligence to anticipate needs, remain agile and support future development.
He said this approach is especially important in a city with more than 200 nationalities and different communities whose needs have to be understood and reflected in how the city develops.
Al Shorafa also emphasised that technology is also changing transport and urban mobility, as Abu Dhabi moved quickly to introduce policies and regulation around emerging technologies, creating an environment where companies can test new solutions rather than waiting years for regulatory frameworks to catch up.
He pointed to autonomous mobility as one example, saying the city has created a sandbox for companies to test technologies and develop the regulatory requirements needed to deploy them.
Al Shorafa also noted that more than 25% of Abu Dhabi’s public buses are sustainable vehicles, reflecting efforts to introduce new technology alongside wider sustainability objectives.
From Digital Government to Anticipatory Government
Al Kuttab said the government’s objective is increasingly focused on impact rather than simply the number of services or outputs delivered.
For Abu Dhabi, that means asking whether the government is making it easier for people who live, work or invest in the emirate to prosper, he explained.
Al Kuttab said Abu Dhabi’s ambition to become the world’s first AI-native government is centred on giving people back time.
By automating processes and eventually reducing the need for residents to initiate some government services themselves, people can spend more time on their work, businesses, health or families, he added.
He said that artificial intelligence requires more than digitising existing processes.
“To do that, we need to digitise everything that we did, including our laws, our policies, our regulations, so that AI can understand it,” Al Kuttab said.
He also added that Abu Dhabi currently offers around 1,200 government services, with about 300 being examined for possible automation as part of an “anticipatory government” model.
Investors Already Responding
Both officials also linked the city’s physical and digital development to its investment environment. Al Shorafa said the private sector has an important role in developing infrastructure and communities, while public-private partnerships can bring new ideas and reduce the burden on government.
He said Abu Dhabi is open to investors from different nationalities and that government services, collaboration and regulation all contribute to making projects more attractive.
Al Kuttab said the same partnership approach is central to government’s relationship with businesses. Asked whether investors were showing interest in Abu Dhabi, he emphasised that “they are already here”.
He noted that investors want market intelligence, supportive regulation and confidence that government will remain a partner after a business has been established.
“They see Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a land of opportunities, they understand and they trust that the government here views common ground between their success and our success,” he explained. “We are a collection of systems, it is just one system, all move together,” Al Kuttab said.