The UAE government has joined forces with the World Economic Forum to support the Emirates’ new Trade Tech Initiative.
The move aims to boost the digitisation of international supply chains, enhance customs procedures, improve developing countries’ access to the global trading system and spur a new era of trade growth, the UAE government said on Thursday.
The agreement, which was signed during the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos, will support the UAE’s efforts to deliver the initiative’s four key components.
These include a global forum to gather industry and technology leaders to share best-practice, an annual research report into the trade tech landscape, a regulatory sandbox to enable companies to experiment with trade-tech innovations and an incubator for promising start-ups in the trade tech space.
The Trade Tech Initiative is a crucial step in modernising global trade, using the tools of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to reduce the cumbersome and inefficient paper-based processes that continue to dominate supply chains, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said.
“At a time when global supply chains are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, we believe it is essential to harness the benefits of advanced technology to catalyse global trade,” he said.
“From using artificial intelligence to automate customs processes and warehouse management to deploying blockchain to revolutionise trade finance, cross-border payments, and know-your-customer procedures, the potential for enhancement is limitless.”
The UAE economy made a strong rebound from the coronavirus-induced slowdown and the pace of economic momentum has continued to improve on the back of government initiatives and higher oil prices.
The Arab world’s second-largest economy is set to grow more than 6 per cent in 2022, after expanding of 3.8 per cent in 2021, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The UAE economy is projected to grow by 7.6 per cent in 2022, the highest in 11 years, driven by both oil and non-oil sectors, according to the December estimates by the UAE Central Bank. The latest growth forecast is higher than the 5.4 per cent estimate made by the Central Bank in July.
“In 2024, the UAE will host MC13, the leading decision-making body of the World Trade Organisation, and we are determined to build consensus over the next 12 months to begin pioneering a new era of fully digitised, operationally efficient global trade,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
The WEF annual meeting is taking place under the theme “co-operation in a fragmented world” and brought together more than 2,700 government and business leaders to engage in dialogues and help find solutions through public-private co-operation.
“We believe the UAE’s new Trade Tech Initiative further strengthens our efforts to enable traders to export and import seamlessly by accelerating the digitisation of supply chains and enhancing customs procedures,” Mohamed Al Shorafa, chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, said.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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