Dubai at forefront of accelerating growth and innovation: Maktoum

Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor / Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE, on Monday officially opened Gitex Global 2022, the world’s largest technology show at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed later went on a tour of the show accompanied by a number of dignitaries including Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications; Dr Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security, UAE Government; and Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) and the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.

The biggest edition in the event’s history, the 42nd edition of Gitex Global has brought together 5,000 leading technology companies from more than 90 countries across 26 sold-out halls and two million square feet of exhibition space at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The super-connector event, being held from 10-14 October 2022, is set to welcome more than 100,000 attendees from 170 countries. This year’s event will see the biggest Unicorn meetup of the year in Dubai, with 35 Unicorns looking to explore new opportunities and expand in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets

Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed said: “The record global participation in the 42nd edition of the event reflects Dubai’s profile as a hub for innovation, knowledge sharing, enterprise and networking in the international technology industry, a position it has built through focused investments over the last few decades. Dubai’s leadership recognised very early that technological advancement will determine leadership and competitiveness in the future. Aligned with this vision, Dubai developed a technological infrastructure that rivals the best in the world and built strong partnerships with companies at the forefront of innovation in the sector to catalyse development.”

“The largest-ever Gitex Global signifies Dubai’s position at the forefront of ushering in a new wave of innovation and value creation in the sector. This year’s edition features a vast diversity of expertise, which represents not only the global industry’s current dynamism but also its future potential. The strong response the event has drawn from the international technology community also points to Dubai’s emergence as a city that is vital to shaping the future of the industry,” he added.    Gitex Global will explore every facet of the digital through seven experience ecosystems — North Star Dubai - bringing together a record 1,000 start-ups with 600 investors - Fintech Surge, Ai Everything, Future Blockchain Summit, Marketing Mania and two new event platforms, Global DevSlam and X-VERSE.

Gitex Global 2022 features some of the world’s most innovative tech giants including Microsoft, IBM, Dell Technologies, Ericsson, Avaya, Honeywell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, e&, Lenovo, Cisco and Huawei, Gitex Global’s Diamond Sponsor. Among the UAE companies looking to fast-track their digital initiatives are Emirates NBD and telecom giant e&.

Gitex provides 250 government entities with a showcase for their latest public-private partnerships and digital projects, including Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Police, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority and Digital Dubai.

X-VERSE, sponsored by TMRW Foundation in collaboration with Decentraland, is the world’s largest curated Web3.0 immersive experience that brings the virtual world to the physical with 28 exciting world premieres. The sold-out Global DevSlam will host the biggest international meet-up for the developer community featuring the world’s largest Python conference – PyCon MEA – hackathons and certified coding workshops.

As part of its participation in Gitex Global 2022, the Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA) launched today its innovative internal audit platform for government entities of Abu Dhabi, aiming to raise the efficiency of auditing in the emirate in order to help spread the values of integrity, accountability and transparency in preserving public funds.

ADAA joins forces with more than 30 government entities from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi under one digital platform in alignment with the emirate’s digital transformation agenda, at the show being held from 10th to 14th October at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The Authority aims to ensure compliance to preserving public funds and assets and thus enhance the quality of government operations, and as part of that mandate, has created its Internal Audit Platform for official audit and auditor data in various government entities in Abu Dhabi to define the organisational and operational guidelines of internal audit units, based on a set of rules including confidentiality of information, preparation of risk assessment, internal audit plans, and adoption of internal audit strategies, among others.

An ADAA spokesperson said, “The Authority is implementing a range of strategic initiatives that stem from its strategy to enhance the noble values of transparency, accountability and integrity, and to preserve public funds and assets across all Abu Dhabi government entities. The launch of this innovative smart platform contributes to bringing together all government institutions and entities under the authority on one single platform, following the vision and digital agenda of the Abu Dhabi government.”