Sheikh Mansoor tours GITEX Technology Week, attends UAE-Israel Future Digital Economy Summit

Dubai - UAE, Israel officials discuss potential collaboration across key sectors including AI, 5G, cybersecurity and healthcare.

By Staff Report

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Published: Mon 7 Dec 2020, 8:30 PM

His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, visited the  40th edition of GITEX Technology Week on Monday, hosted at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Being held from 6-10 December, GITEX this year is the world’s only live, in-person global technology event.

His Highness toured the event accompanied by Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA). Pavilions of leading companies that Sheikh Mansoor visited included Avaya, Huawei, Honeywell, Software AG, Etisalat, du, Dubai Electronic Security Centre and Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.


Sheikh Mansoor also attended part of the inaugural UAE-Israel Future Digital Economy Summit held at GITEX today. The event featured government ministers, business leaders and tech innovators, who shared their vision for collaboration between the two countries. The Israel Export Institute (IEI), Strategic Country Partner for GITEX, in partnership with Bank Hapoalim, is leading a delegation of Israeli government officials, entrepreneurs and business executives to the event. The Summit presented attendees with vast opportunities in the areas of innovation exploration, capacity building, investments, and co-creation.

His Excellency Omar Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications delivered an address to an audience which included Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed, senior UAE government and business leaders as well as a delegation of Israeli ministers, business executives, and technology entrepreneurs.


Omar Al Olama said: “2020 is a year that has tested all of us, but the year has seen exponential growth for digital companies and accelerated the pace at which we were heading in the future. In the UAE, our leadership believes that in every challenge there is an opportunity to thrive. GITEX is a step forward in the UAE’s goal of becoming a leader in the digital economy.”

Home to one of the most vibrant start-up and creative communities in the region, the UAE has fostered a robust digital sector as a national economic imperative. HE Omar Al Olama leads the national strategy to double the digital sector's contribution to the economy, and advance its leadership in AI and smart infrastructure.

His Excellency said that for the digital economy to thrive, there needs to be three important components, which the UAE has already put in place. The first is talent. As the world closed its borders, the UAE opened its borders to ensure that people could live and work here safely. The second, he said, was building a robust digital infrastructure which enables the digitalisation of the economy and delivery of services to the people. Lastly, a successful digital economy can only be enabled by an agile government.

Al Olama also added that the normalisation of ties with Israel presents a number of opportunities. The UAE could become Israel’s largest trading partner, he noted.

On the occasion of the inaugural bilateral summit, Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai, extended her gratitude to everyone involved in making the UAE-Israel Future Digital Economy Summit a reality. She said: “We must take what we’ve learnt this year, scan the horizon and use that knowledge to create the path forward. The future as we see it cannot be founded on old ways and old positions. The speed at which we have managed to accelerate the journey towards a knowledge-based economy and to reinvent is an incredible opportunity for all of us. It must be the product of a new vision born of dialogue and understanding. We have much more to gain from the coming together of the diplomatic, cultural and scientific coming together of the UAE and Israel.”

The Summit brought together specialists in AI, 5G, future mobility, food security, fintech, future mobility, cyber security, healthtech and agritech who are seeking collaborations and new deals with UAE and global businesses at GITEX.

Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mheiri, UAE Minister of State for Food and Water Security discussed the significant investments made by the UAE in research and development in the fields of agricultural and water to find innovative methods to produce food and conserve water in arid environments such as the UAE and semi-arid areas such as Israel.

Speaking at the Summit, Her Excellency said: “We are heading towards 10 billion people in 30 years which means we’ll need 60% more food by then. That is why we must disrupt the way we produce food and the way we consume it. The UAE’s National Food Security Strategy outlines five key strategies to solve challenges including around supply chains, wastage and nutritional intake."

Adiv Baruch, Chairman, Israel Export Institute, expressed his confidence that the UAE-Israel Future Digital Economy Summit will be a significant step in fostering technological collaboration between the two countries, and that it will lay the foundations for tangible positive impact in the coming years. “For our generation, our leaders have decided to set aside history and deal with the future. We have an opportunity which is so unique to our generation that we should not miss it. In the absence of natural resources, we have invested in our human capital, similar to how the UAE is investing in its post-petroleum future. We have to continue to innovate, share ideas and move to the next stage. Our generation has to take leadership of co-creation for the future in order to be successful.”

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation spoke at the Summit about ‘reigniting growth against disruption’. “Trade between the UAE and Israel is only set to grow. As a port operator, Israel has a very well-established market with traders, and it will be a strategic link to connect to our ports in Europe, in line with our new strategy of end-to-end solutions enabling trade and logistics,” he said.

Mohamed Alabbar, Founder, Emaar Properties and Founder, Noon.com noted: “There is no limit to what can be done with Israel. The UAE has used its geographical position to serve two billion people across the world through trade. In this region, Dubai is the only major business hub which can facilitate new opportunities. What the UAE has proven during the pandemic is that it is a safe place for businesses and for families.”

Fintech experts from Israel and the UAE discussed how industry landscapes will alter as traditional firms strive to keep pace with technology, and more fintech challengers are granted bank charters. Prof. David Gershon, Head of Fintech Research Center of Hebrew University and former CEO of SuperDerivatives; Dov Kotler, President & CEO, Bank Hapoalim; Arif Amiri, CEO, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abdulla Qassem, Group Chief Operating Officer, Emirates NBD together discussed how consumers stand to benefit from the sector’s technological tipping point.

During the fintech session, Dov Kotler from Bank Hapoalim – which recently signed an agreement with DIFC – highlighted: “There are a lot of similarities between the two nations and this will help us to develop our relationship further. We can learn from each other, share knowledge and that is why I am very optimistic. I believe the future will bring lots of cooperation and reciprocal investments.”

With Dubai setting a target for a quarter of all trips to be made autonomously by 2030, the emirate’s future mobility strategies were a key focus of the event’s discussions. Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan, CEO Public Transport Agency, Dubai Roads and Transport Authority and Dr. Anat Lea Bonshtien, Chairwoman and Director of Smart Mobility Initiative, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, discussed their take on the future of mobility.

Breaking down the daunting investment and fund-raising challenges facing policy makers, executives and investors, Michal Geva, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Triventures and Orly Glick, Partner at Vintage Investment Partners discussed how structural changes have taken hold and impacted everything from supply chains, business models and consumer behaviors.

An expert panel of UAE and Israeli healthcare experts, including Dr. Manal Taryam, CEO – Primary Healthcare Sector at Dubai Health Authority; Sherif Beshara, Group CEO – Mohamed and Obaid Al Mulla Group of Companies and American Hospital; Assaf Barnea, CEO at Sanara Ventures and Chairperson of the Life Science Advisory Board of the Israel Export Institute; and Prof. Zeev Rotstein, Director General of the Hadassah Medical Organization shed light on the most promising technologies to combat the pressing health challenges of our time.

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