President congratulates ADIA delegation on 50th anniversary

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a delegation from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) as the authority marks the 50th anniversary of its establishment.

Sheikh Mohamed congratulated the delegation on the occasion and expressed his appreciation for their efforts to strengthen ADIA’s position among the world’s leading investment institutions. He also paid tribute to the pioneering generation that established the authority and to all those whose dedication and vision contributed to its growth and success over the past 50 years.

Sheikh Mohamed underscored ADIA’s role in supporting the UAE’s development vision, being one of the nation’s key drivers of economic diversification and future-focused growth.

The meeting was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and several Sheikhs and officials.

Since its foundation, ADIA has evolved from a small team investing primarily in equities and bonds, into a globally diversified investment institution. Throughout, it has sought to balance continuous evolution with rigorous discipline in pursuit of its mission – to secure the long-term prosperity of Abu Dhabi.

This clarity of purpose can be traced back to the remarkable vision of its founding leaders, who empowered ADIA with long-term objectives driven solely by economic considerations.

When ADIA was formed in 1976, Ahmed Khalifa Al Suwaidi was named as Deputy Chairman, and Mohammed Habroush Al Suwaidi as Managing Director, positions they held until 1997.

For more than 20 years, they both served ADIA with distinction, playing vital roles in directing its growth and instilling a culture that endures today.

Against a backdrop of constant change, ADIA has demonstrated its ability to identify and prudently respond to important new developments in the investing landscape. Prominent examples include early moves into new asset classes, such as its first investments in hedge funds in 1986, private equity in 1989 and infrastructure in 2007.

In 1993, the introduction of a formal asset allocation process represented a key innovation and was a major driver of performance over the following decades.

In recent years, ADIA has undergone an organisation-wide transformation that has increased its flexibility to target and capture new opportunities, both within and across traditional asset class boundaries. It has embraced quantitative and systematic techniques, enabled by new technologies, across the organisation.

In 2020, it established a Quantitative Research & Development unit to play a key role in ADIA’s dynamic asset allocation process and to research, develop and implement investment strategies.

It created the Core Portfolio Department in 2021 to manage ADIA’s passive public equity and fixed income exposures, optimise rebalancing decisions and meet the liquidity and funding requirements of the total portfolio. To support greater operational agility, a multi-year transformation programme for investment support functions was completed in 2024.

Since its inception in 1976, ADIA has recruited and developed talent with a particular focus on UAE Nationals.

Separately, Sheikh Mohamed received a delegation of the fifth Make it in the Emirates event.

The President commended the efforts of those behind the initiative, which has evolved into a key platform for supporting national industry and fostering industrial partnerships that advance the UAE’s development goals.

He reaffirmed that strengthening and advancing the industrial sector remains a national priority and a central pillar of the UAE’s vision for the future.

In this context, he highlighted ongoing efforts to localise strategic industries, support national products and develop Emirati talent in the sector.

The meeting was attended by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; and several Sheikhs and officials.

WAM