In today’s hyper-digital world, nations can be broadly classified as either producers or consumers or both. The producers, with their head start, are on the path of aggressive technology mercantilism. Mere consumers are at the mercy of producers as they strive to stay in sync with the ever-evolving tech sphere. Then there are nations that were mostly consumers previously but are now gradually developing their in-house capabilities. The UAE belongs to the third category. This category is important to realize the promise of technology: A truly egalitarian world for all humankind. If they bridge the gap with the predominant producers, not only do they balance the equation but also set the right precedents for low-income, mere consumers to follow suit.
In levelling the technological playing field, I believe we can widen the scope of global economic integration, harness the true potential of globalization, and establish a rules-based open market in every nook and cranny of the world. The realization of this ambitious vision demands every nation to have a digital economy strategy — a blueprint, along with timeframes, to achieve specific digitalization targets, support innovation, and create an efficiency-driven ecosystem. In this context, I believe the UAE cabinet’s recent ratification of the National Strategy for Digital Economy is both a timely and decisive step.
National Strategy for Digital Economy
As part of the move, a special council for digital economy has been set up under the leadership of Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications. The National Strategy will see the UAE launch over 30 initiatives across six sectors and five new areas of growth. With a unified approach to digitalize all economic sectors, set key performance indicators (KPIs), measure the progress periodically and enhance multi-sectoral integration, the National Strategy for Digital Economy could soon elevate the UAE’s digital competitiveness.
Most importantly, the newly ratified strategy is expected to take the digital economy’s contribution to the UAE’s non-oil GDP from 9.7% (current) to 20% in the next ten years. This target complements the UAE’s larger economic diversification efforts to develop non-oil sectors. While the existing contribution of 9.7% to the non-oil GDP has decidedly placed the UAE among the top 25% countries in the most reliable global digital economy indices, the policy-led efforts to double the contribution could be consequential to the aspirations of the entire Middle East.
My sentiment is echoed in a report titled “How GCC countries can become digital leaders”, released by Strategy&, part of the PwC network. Accordingly, the report suggests that the digital economies of GCC countries are growing twice as fast as their digitally advanced counterparts (predominant tech producers). The pace of expansion in the GCC is such that it carries the potential to add up to $255 billion to the regional GDP and, within five years, could match the digital maturity of OECD countries. Such findings indicate the progressive direction in which the region is headed.
Digital economy as the growth instrument
In the 21st century, leading nations have disproportionately focused on making breakthroughs in emerging technologies and rising to the top of the tech value chain. Previously, the focus was largely on military technology; today the focus is rather uniform across growth sectors such as real estate, finance, healthcare, etc. However, greater digitalization has also accompanied divisiveness, the polarization of public discourse, cyberattacks, etc., which are better addressed as part of a federal, unified strategy. Also, by creating a thriving digital economy, the UAE could be well-positioned to launch data localization schemes and further secure its interests. All in all, I believe the National Strategy is foundational for many great outcomes to follow in the foreseeable future.
