Sustained investment in artificial intelligence will be a “game changer” for the UAE and the broader Gulf economy as the region positions itself as a global technology hub, International Monetary Fund regional director Jihad Azour has said.
AI investment is a key part of the UAE's push to diversify its economy. The Emirates has invested $148 billion in AI domestically and abroad since 2024, Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, has said, with the country emerging as a leading player in data centre capacity.
Mr Azour said sustaining this level of investment can boost the UAE economy by 0.7 per cent.
“It’s a game changer. It’s very important,” he said in an interview with The National at the IMF’s headquarters before the start of Abu Dhabi Finance Week on Monday.
“Gradually we see technology playing a larger role in the non-oil economy, be it in the financial services, in government services, but also in the other type of non-oil activities.”
The UAE has also embraced other elements of digitalisation including digital currencies, cross-border digital payments and the development of crypto assets, which have helped the Emirates become a magnet for capital.
This year's Abu Dhabi Finance Week coincides with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Abu Dhabi's ADGM, which has emerged as one of the world's largest financial centres due to a robust regulatory framework, and its financial innovations have helped it attract global fund managers.
“The last 10 years were very important for the transformation of the UAE economy,” Mr Azour said.
Building up the non-oil sector, investing in technology and AI, and developing services “have helped the UAE to become one of the emerging middle powers of the world”, he said.
IMF regional director
Other Gulf economies have also embraced digitalisation in their diversification efforts since the Covid-19 pandemic by shifting activities to online platforms. In the public sector, telehealth and digital banking have become commonplace, while private-sector businesses are using AI and blockchain to boost efficiency, according to an IMF paper published this year.
'Serious players'
The UAE and Saudi Arabia's AI ambitions received a significant boost in November when the US authorised the export of advanced chips.
The announcement, which allows the UAE's G42 and Saudi Arabia's Humain to buy the chips, is seen as a milestone moment for the Gulf's AI leaders.
“It's a sign that those countries are becoming serious players in this industry,” Mr Azour said.
The approval followed significant steps taken by the UAE and Saudi Arabia this year.
For the UAE, these include the announcement of a 5-gigawatt UAE-US AI campus in Abu Dhabi. US companies who have joined G42 in the project include Cisco, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank.
Humain, the technology company backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, has made recent gains including deals with Qualcomm, Cisco and AMD.
Mr Azour said there are three dimensions to AI readiness in the Gulf region – infrastructure, investment in technology and capital, and developing knowledge of advanced technology.
“And here [it] is very important to reform labour market regulations, attract innovators, develop curriculums in order for the region not only to be a platform for investment, but also [a] platform for innovation,” he said.
The advent of AI also comes with risks. Stretched asset valuations could lead to market corrections, affecting 40 per cent of the global workforce, according to market analysts.
“Therefore, it's very important for those countries not only to look at the opportunities, but also to see how this is going to change their economies … how this also is going to help modernise public services,” Mr Azour said.
In a paper released by the IMF this week, the fund found the Gulf's economic outlook to be resilient owing to strong non-hydrocarbon activity, limited spillover effects from regional conflict and a modest direct impact of US tariffs.
The fund said global economic uncertainty continues to be a risk to the region's economic outlook which is expected to be supported by the unwinding of oil production cuts and a boost in natural gas production, among other factors.
Shifting trade patterns
Mr Azour sees an opportunity for a more interconnected Gulf and Middle East, particularly as tariffs reshape global trade.
He warned that countries are at risk of being marginalised in a global economy exposed to changing trade routes and value chains. A more dynamic approach could mitigate those risks, he said.
For the region, this means boosting the number of women and young people in the workforce, investing in infrastructure, and preparing for the potential negative impacts of AI on the wider labour market.
“I think this is where the region could find itself, or could find a model that will allow [it] to reach peace, stability, growth and prosperity for the next decade,” said Mr Azour.
