Dubai: The UAE has signed an understanding with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to establish a Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution in the UAE, the ministry of cabinet affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.
Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, and Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of WEF, were present for the signing, which took place on the sidelines of WEF’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
WEF describes the Fourth Industrial Revolution as being characterised by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.
Al Gergawi, who is also vice-chairman of the board of trustees and managing director of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), and Schwab went on to sign a second agreement to develop the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Data Protocol, with the UAE government agreeing to synchronise efforts in the sector.
The deal creates a regulatory framework to ensure a smooth roll-out of the 4IR Protocol and its components.
Developed by the UAE’s government, the protocol seeks to establish an integrated and secure data ecosystem to quicken the implementation of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies as solutions to the challenges brought about by rapid technological advancements.
According to the statement, Al Gergawi said that the establishment of a centre dedicated to the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution bolsters the UAE’s leading position and role in anticipating the future, developing advanced instruments and solutions to address its challenges.
The centre supports the government’s efforts to empower a generation of experts in Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, and to promote these cutting-edge innovations that have already begun to transform societies around the world.
