Dubai – Mubasher: Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Dubai’s artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics project reached over $21 billion in the period between 2015 and 2018.
The emirate mostly attracted investments from the European Union (EU) and the US with $5.7 billion and $3.9 billion, respectively, becoming the world’s most attracting of FDI for AI, Arabian Business reported.
The UAE ranks the first among Arab states in terms of expected annual growth of AI's contribution to the economy at 33.5%, followed by Saudi Arabia at 31.3%, the rest of the GCC region at 28.8%, and Egypt at 25.5%.
AI adoption in the emirate of Dubai is likely to account for 45% of the world economy’s total gains by 2030, according to the UAE-based business news platform.
The aforementioned figures have been announced on the sidelines of Annual Investment Meeting (AIM 2019), which will be held from 8 to 10 April in Dubai.
The organisers of AIM highlighted the importance of digitalisation as it becomes a main part of globalisation, especially when Dubai is emerging as the global destination for investment in smart technologies.
“Digital growth is significant to the growth of the economy. In the UAE, it is in line with UAE Vision 2021, which aims to position the country as a top spot for tech investments,” CEO of Annual Investment Organising Committee Dawood Al Shezawi said.
“Disruptive technologies like AI, blockchain, internet of things (IoT) boost the productive capacity of countries and also the global GDP. To maximise its benefits, countries need to integrate new avenues that will drive more investments in these solutions,” Al Shezawi added.
Experts are expected to discuss strategies and mechanisms for improving tech solutions at AIM to lure FDIs, as well as promoting internal and external incentives to encourage companies to adopt these solutions.
