U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council & U.A.E. Embassy in Washington Host U.A.E. Minister of State for AI

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The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council and the U.A.E. Embassy in Washington’s Trade and Commercial Office hosted a dinner on Wednesday November 14th in honor of a visiting delegation from the U.A.E. Prime Minister’s Office led by His Excellency Omar Sultan Al-Olama, U.A.E. Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence.

The dinner,  held at Café Milano, provided an opportunity for the delegation to engage prominent Washington policymakers and thought leaders, as well as senior executives from the local business community.

The delegation is currently in Washington to host World Virtual GovHack, an event that regularly brings together top software developers, designers, and entrepreneurs to address global challenges such as refugee resettlement, and challenges to resource access and security.

Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, and Saud Al Nowais, Commercial and Trade Attaché at the U.A.E. Embassy’s Trade and Commercial Office provided welcoming remarks before introducing H.E. Al-Olama.

In his keynote address, His Excellency Al-Olama remarked, “The U.A.E. is playing an active role in embracing artificial intelligence through a number of public-private sector partnerships across several sectors. To  this end, we understand the critical importance of cross-border collaboration in the research, innovation, and adoption of emerging technologies. This has to happen not only at the public sector level, but just as importantly with the private sector. The U.S. has world class companies advancing AI through cutting edge products and services. We look forward to working together with them to test, iterate, and roll out these solutions, as we continue to position U.A.E. as the global test bed for these technologies.”​

From L to R: Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, His Excellency Omar Sultan Al-Olama, U.A.E. Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, and Saud Al Nowais, Commercial and Trade Attaché at the U.A.E. Embassy’s Trade and Commercial Office

Mr. Al Nowais added, “The Embassy is proud to support His Excellency Omar Al-Olama in his role to enhance government performance by investing in the latest technologies and tools of AI. The Minister’s portfolio is crucial to the U.A.E. government’s mandate to develop a national economy based on knowledge, innovation, and future technologies. As the place where innovation lives, the United States plays a key role in partnering with the U.A.E., both in the public and private sector, to achieve this vision.”

Before concluding the dinner, Mr. Sebright highlighted the Business Council’s successful October 2018 U.A.E. Tech Mission, and the opportunities provided to participants for engagement with prominent public and private sector stakeholders in the U.A.E.’s IT and ICT ecosystem,  including leadership from the Dubai Future Foundation and Dubai Future Accelerators.

Mr. Sebright noted, “The United Arab Emirates has uniquely positioned itself as the global leader in artificial intelligence. Through entities such as the Dubai Future Foundation, Dubai Future Accelerators, Dubai Future Academy, and the Museum of the Future, the U.A.E. aims to create a roadmap for other nations to shape their future through public-private cooperation in the AI space. Many of the individuals assembled in this room represent prominent American organizations with world-class capacities that they seek to share with the U.A.E., ensuring their continued leadership in artificial intelligence, and the greater innovation sector.”