Gitex advances innovation and digital excellence in the region

Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

As the penultimate day concluded at the Gitex Gobal 2025 in Dubai, new partnerships and collaboration breakthroughs emerged to leverage latest technological advancements in the field of Artificial Intelligence and digital sciences.

Digital identity solution: BEEAH Group, the region’s sustainability and digital transformation pioneer, has partnered with The Hashgraph Group (THG), a Swiss-based Web3 technology engineering company within the Hedera ecosystem, to launch one of the region’s first decentralised digital identity (DID) solution that will unify secure access across BEEAH’s diverse businesses and services.

The partnership agreement, which was signed during Gitex Global 2025, underscores their shared commitment to advancing innovation and digital excellence in the region.

Enabled by The Hashgraph Association (THA) under its Enterprise Accelerator Programme, the collaboration introduces IDTrust, THG’s enterprise-grade self-sovereign identity platform built on Hedera’s distributed ledger technology (DLT). The deployment marks a major milestone in BEEAH’s digital transformation roadmap, laying the foundation for a connected, trusted, and privacy-first ecosystem that spans environmental services, energy, real estate, technology, and healthcare.

Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO & Vice Chairman, BEEAH Group, added, "For years, we have been committed to the principles of sustainability, technology, and socioeconomic development, which is why we are among the first to implement a DID solution in the region, across our growing ecosystem. This is a foundational step toward creating a seamless digital experience for our employees, customers, residents, and partners, and one that aligns with UAE’s vision for smarter, more sustainable governance.”

The solution will be introduced in phases, beginning with BEEAH’s internal operations, including employee and partner identity management, before scaling across all BEEAH entities and projects, such as smart real estate communities, healthcare facilities, and environmental services platforms. Future phases will explore broader collaboration with government and city-wide stakeholders in the UAE, positioning BEEAH as a model for decentralised identity adoption in the region.

Kamal Youssefi, President of The Hashgraph Association, stated, "Backed by the Hedera Governing Council, THA’s mission is to drive the broad adoption and utilisation of Hedera globally. The MENA region continues to prove its innovative leadership in implementing cutting-edge digital technologies through strategic partnerships such as the one between BEEAH and THG. This reflects the continuation and affirmation of Hedera’s long-term commitment not only to empower enterprises and government institutions in the UAE but throughout the wider MENA region, and beyond. We look forward to supporting BEEAH with this transformational initiative that will define decentralised identity adoption globally.”

The Ministry of Investment and Microsoft have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities for collaboration in investment analytics and financial forecasting through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.

The MoU was signed by Mohammad Alhawi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Investment, and Amr Kamel, General Manager of Microsoft UAE, on the sidelines of Gitex Global 2025.

As part of the MoU, the ministry and Microsoft will explore opportunities to upskill the ministry’s workforce through the AI National Skilling Initiative, Microsoft’s comprehensive programme designed to train 100,000 employees across government entities. The collaboration will also focus on identifying and implementing industry-specific AI use cases, particularly in investment analytics, financial forecasting, and retail optimisation.

In addition, both parties will work together to promote best practices in data governance and management, conducting workshops and knowledge-sharing sessions on how to effectively utilise Microsoft’s Azure Data Catalog and Azure Purview. These efforts will be supported by Microsoft’s local field experts to ensure the highest standards of implementation.

"The UAE Ministry of Investment is committed to advancing the nation’s vision of becoming a global leader in AI by 2031. By integrating AI across the investment ecosystem and strengthening national capabilities, our collaboration with Microsoft represents a significant step in realising this ambition and accelerating progress towards a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy,” Alhawi said.

Smart 'RAAD' vehicle: K2, an Abu Dhabi government-owned UAE company specialising in advanced autonomous systems and AI-powered technologies, has launched the "RAAD” Smart Civil Defence Vehicle, developed in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Civil Defence Authority, during its participation at Gitex Global 2025.

The RAAD vehicle marks a major leap in emergency response innovation, integrating AI, robotics, and unmanned aerial systems into a mobile command-and-control platform, the first of its kind in the region, designed to enhance operational efficiency, situational awareness, and rapid coordination during emergencies.

"The launch of the RAAD vehicle represents a strategic milestone in advancing Civil Defence operational capabilities. It reflects our commitment to adopting cutting-edge technologies that enhance rescue and firefighting missions, improve response efficiency, and minimise risks to firefighters, thereby safeguarding lives, property, and the safety of our community,” Brigadier Salem Abdullah bin Barak Al Dhaheri, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Civil Defence Authority, said.

The "Eye” system streamlines administrative procedures and reduces human error by deploying an AI Agent to verify documents required for work permits. The system analyses documents such as personal photos, passports, and academic certificates to ensure their accuracy and authenticity.

Rashid Hassan Al Saadi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Market Services at MoHRE, said, "The system forms part of a broad portfolio of digital transformation and AI initiatives that elevate the standards of government services and pioneership. The system reflects the ministry’s high level of digital readiness, our leading role in supporting ambitious national directives, and our commitment to advancing innovation and AI applications across all labour market fields.”

UAE at the forefront of AI revolution: As the global tech community turns its attention to Gitex Global 2025, EnterpriseDB (EDB), the leading Postgres data and AI company, is spotlighting the United Arab Emirates as a trailblazer in digital sovereignty and AI innovation.

According to EDB’s latest research, 17% of enterprises in the UAE are “deeply committed” to sovereign AI—well above the global average of 13%. This positions the UAE at the forefront of the AI revolution, outperforming peers in major markets such as the United States and United Kingdom.

Digital sovereignty is the ability of a nation or organisation to retain full control over its data, digital infrastructure, and AI models—deciding where data is stored, how it is processed, and which technologies are used. It ensures compliance with local regulations, protects sensitive information, and fuels innovation that reflects national priorities.

Kevin Dallas, CEO of EnterpriseDB (EDB), commented, “The UAE is setting a new global standard for digital leadership—with sovereignty at its core. The government’s strategic investments, such as the Stargate AI initiative, are compressing timelines for platforms, skills and enterprise readiness—de-risking AI at scale.”

“EDB Postgres AI is built for this moment: an enterprise-grade platform that meets customers where they are, across hybrid environments, under their control.”

This vision aligns with the UAE’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031, which places AI at the heart of the country’s economic development and competitiveness.

To accelerate this momentum, EDB opened its regional headquarters in Dubai this month.

The new hub serves as a centre of excellence for sovereign AI, supporting government entities, enterprises, and technology partners across the Gulf.

“Our Dubai office represents a long-term commitment to the region,” said Dallas. “With a rich ecosystem of strategic alliances and regional leaders, we’re strengthening the foundation for sovereign data and AI innovation that enables enterprises and nations to build responsibly at scale.”

EDB also offers world-class partner support that drives platform education and adoption —for example, through the EDB Postgres AI certification programs that are actively being rolled out across the Gulf region.

GPSSA, Core42: The General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding during its participation in Gitex Global 2025 with Core42, a G42 company specialising in sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure, in a strategic move to consolidate the UAE's leadership in the field of smart government services

The partnership with Core 42 aims to build a data and artificial intelligence platform that will enable the GPSSA to employ modern technology that helps enhance customer experience and supports the decision-making process based on articulate data and in-depth analysis.

The platform will support a sustainable development process that empowers national talent while developing a stimulating work environment. The approach ensures the provision of effective internal services supported by an integrated digital infrastructure that keeps pace with future requirements.

Commenting on the partnership, Faras Al Ramahi, Director-General at the GPSSA said, "This is a strategic step towards achieving our wise leadership’s vision to build the government of the future. Today, we are moving from the concept of digital transformation to embodying our role in serving citizens. We are building a smart, proactive system that redefines government services, translating the strategic goals of the Zero Government Bureaucracy program and the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy into reality.”

For his part, Kiril Evtimov, CEO of Core42, said, "Our collaboration with GPSSA reflects how secure, scalable, and sovereign digital infrastructure can unlock new possibilities for public sector innovation. By harnessing Core42’s Sovereign Public Cloud and Compass AI, we are laying the foundation for an AI-ready authority that can leverage its data responsibly and efficiently. This partnership demonstrates how UAE federal entities are leading by example in building digital-first, AI-powered government operations.”