Gulf states are moving rapidly to harness artificial intelligence for national development, innovation and public trust, officials have said as they outlined new strategies and investments across the region.
Last week, senior officials and representatives of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman highlighted initiatives from AI infrastructure investments and talent development to ethical frameworks and tools to combat online misinformation, signalling a shared commitment to responsible, human-centred AI adoption.
“Digital transformation makes governments responsible for delivering seamless services to citizens, businesses competing in the global markets and the whole system for learning how to teach these evolving skills to young people,” said Omar Al Omar, Kuwait’s Minister of State for Communications Affairs.
“And we need to make sure that this is built on safe and trustworthy digital environments … misinformation is not an abstract concern. It puts at risk the social cohesion that holds our communities together.”
Mr Al Omar was addressing the fifth General Assembly of the Digital Co-operation Organisation (DCO), an intergovernmental body established in 2020 to promote global digital co-operation. Proceedings were tied to the theme of 'Digital Prosperity in the Age of AI'.
Kuwait held the presidency of the DCO last year, overseeing the adoption of the group’s 2025‑2028 agenda on digital transformation. During its term, the country focused on boosting digital skills and inclusion.
The presidency has now passed to Pakistan, which will lead the organisation through its next phase, with Saudi Arabia taking the reins in 2027. The DCO has 16 member states.
Kuwait has launched national initiatives to expand AI capacity – including a digital skills programme with Microsoft last year to train citizens in AI and cloud technology – as part of broader efforts to integrate AI into government under its New Kuwait 2035 vision.
Speaking of Kuwait’s high aspirations on the sidelines of the DCO General Assembly, Mr Al Omar told The National: “We are setting the foundation for better things to come,” working to advance new AI technology projects. “Those will be revealed at the right time,” he added.
Aggressive AI investment
Gulf states have been aggressively investing in AI as part of broader economic diversification and digital transformation plans.
The UAE ranks second globally in artificial intelligence capability, according to a 2025 study by TRG Datacentres, a Texas‑based data center operator – placing it behind the US. Saudi Arabia was third.
Last November, the US authorised the export of Nvidia AI chips to UAE artificial intelligence company G42 and Saudi tech start-up Humain. The approval was seen as a significant step for the UAE and Saudi Arabia's broader diversification.
“Last year was a historic year for us,” said Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology. He referred to the first Nobel Prize winner from the region, Prof Omar Yaghi, for a Saudi-Jordanian collaboration that used AI and chemistry to develop a material capable of capturing water and carbon from air. Mr Alswaha also highlighted the first Muslim Arab woman to travel to the International Space Station, Rayyanah Barnawi. The 34-year-old Saudi biomedical scientist worked on tumour organoids and cartilage research aimed at advancing medical treatment.
Mr Alswaha said the kingdom plans to expand its energy capacity to meet growing AI demands and has established one of the world’s most cost-effective training hubs, offering computing at just 11 cents per million input-output tokens.
Qatar said it has also made significant progress in developing its AI strategy.
"Qatar recently announced Qai, a company that is focused on artificial intelligence infrastructure, with an investment of 20 billion Qatari riyals [$5.49 billion]," said Reem Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Industry Affairs. She said Doha has launched a national AI strategy and a multibillion-riyal programme to deliver AI solutions and smart projects across the country.
Qai, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, was founded in December with the aim of developing, operating and investing in AI infrastructure, including high-performance computing and data centres.
Experts say Gulf countries are rapidly seizing opportunities presented by AI and that the region has advantages that few others can match.
“There’s a substantial investment by the sovereign wealth funds driving a lot of this,” said Andrew Hanna, chief executive of ZainTech, a regional digital solutions provider.
Mr Hanna added that energy costs in the Gulf are another critical factor. “We have energy and the lowest cost of producing energy of different types. The environment and all these factors make it a perfect scenario for this investment.”
He also highlighted demographic and leadership advantages, saying the Gulf’s young population and forward-looking governments are preparing the next generation to take advantage of data and technology. “You expect to see more of this in the months and years to come – more investment, more interest, maybe even more partnerships with big countries like the US."
Running with AI
Oman spoke of growth in AI start-ups, investment and infrastructure development, with government AI programmes moving from experimentation to real-world implementation.
"We successfully implemented AI pilot projects across priority sectors such as health, education, justice, procurement and governance," said Ali Al Shidani, Undersecretary of Communications and Information Technology.
"AI is no longer a future concept. It is actively shaping public services, economies and societies," he added, noting that strong governance, ethical principles and human-centered design were key.
Mr Hanna said the AI push in the Gulf is creating a self-reinforcing system. “It’s a snowball effect. You create the investment and the investment brings more companies, more talent, more engineering, more firepower, further investment, further partners and further ecosystem."
