The UAE has launched a six-pillar plan to adopt Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and spearhead a global movement in collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF). Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, announced the plan during the annual meeting of the Global Future Councils in Dubai. “The UAE Government realises the importance of planning for the future and it is leading the world when it comes to adopting Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies,” he said.
First Pillar: The UAE Government will establish the Fourth Industrial Revolution Council, the first of its kind in the world. The Council will report directly to the Cabinet and will be supervised by the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future. Council members will include representatives from government, private-sector, and academic organisations.
Second Pillar: Working closely with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and through the Global Future Councils to formulate a global governance framework that regulates legislative and executive efforts to implement Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, and to create global markets for them in collaboration with governments and relevant private-sector organisations.
Third Pillar: In collaboration with the World Economic Forum, the UAE Government will work to establish Fourth Industrial Revolution Councils, which aim to provide advisory support to decision makers around the world.
These councils will be tasked with studying the effects of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies on economic and social systems, determining economic and investment opportunities within key sectors where these technologies can be implemented, and providing advisory support for governments looking to set legislative and executive frameworks – along the lines of the governance framework formulated through the plan’s second pillar – in order to implement these technologies.
Fourth Pillar: Launching a programme that seeks to include governments from around the region in the network of experts that take part in the Global Future Councils and, consequently, enhancing the event’s role in supporting economic development in those economies.
Fifth Pillar: The UAE will be the first country in the world to experiment with and implement the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, creating new markets for them. This builds on the steps the government has already implemented through initiatives and strategies promoting technologies such as blockchain, smart transportation, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence.
Sixth Pillar: The UAE Government will be the first in the world to design and build a framework within its national agenda that aims to prepare governments for the future, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The framework focuses on measuring the readiness of governments in the next ten years against six main criteria: technology and innovation, economy, society, natural resources and the environment, security, and governance.
