UAE to launch new AI-powered trade platform

Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Foreign Trade has signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi-based AI solutions provider Presight, a G42 company, to build the Ministry of Foreign Trade AI Platform, a suite of AI-powered trade tools that will facilitate smarter, faster foreign trade and consolidate the UAE’s status as a global trade pioneer.

The platform will be embedded across all core functions of the Ministry of Foreign Trade as it seeks to become the first AI-driven trade ministry in the world.

The platform will analyse millions of data points from ports, shipping routes, international laws, trade deals, customs records and more in real time, providing detailed intelligence for both public and private sector actors. 

The platform will help them forecast potential disruptions to trade and identify new growth opportunities. 

This intelligence will help businesses understand rules, regulations and market access requirements across different jurisdictions, as well as providing AI-driven services to traders such as smart certificates of origin. 

The Ministry of Foreign Trade will benefit from the platform by gaining access to enhanced data analysis capacity, supporting both policymaking and negotiating advantageous trade deals.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade AI Platform is one of the eight strategic pillars of the UAE Global Centre of Trade programme, which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in November last year to strengthen the UAE's position as a global gateway for goods and services, accelerate national targets for foreign trade, and open new markets for UAE exports.

Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, attended the signing of the agreement.

Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, said the signing marked an important part of the Ministry’s agenda. “The UAE has long recognized the potential of artificial intelligence to transform our economy and drive new efficiencies and new capabilities. Trade is one sector where AI can have the most immediate impact, replacing cumbersome, human-centered processes with real-time data analysis and forecasting to accelerate merchandise movements, reduce disruptions and identify high-potential opportunities. 

The partnership we have signed with Presight to deliver the Ministry of Foreign Trade AI Platform will enable the UAE to surpass our already ambitious foreign trade objectives, confirm our role as an essential hub on global supply chains, and create a model of excellence for other trading nations to follow.”

Mansoor Al Mansoori, Vice Chairman of Presight, said the Ministry of Foreign Trade’s new AI Platform will support the UAE’s leadership in international supply chains. “The future of trade belongs to economies that can see early and move fast. By putting real-time insight into the hands of decision-makers, we reduce friction, compress timelines, and help governments and businesses operate with confidence. This is how we translate AI into competitiveness, making speed, resilience, and quality the UAE’s contribution to a faster, more trusted global trading system.”

Thomas Pramotedham, CEO of Presight, said the partnership is proof that the UAE is now at the forefront of AI deployment. “This partnership is a significant moment, not just for Presight and the Ministry of Foreign Trade, but for the global trading system as a whole. Our solutions will deliver new operational efficiencies that can unlock a new era of seamless global trade, both by removing the frictions and disruptions that can cost economies billions of dollars and by instantaneously matching demand with supply. The Ministry of Foreign Trade AI Platform will become the gold-standard for the sector – in keeping with the UAE’s status as a global trade facilitator.”

The UAE Global Centre of Trade is a suite of bold, far-sighted initiatives that was launched in November 2025. It is designed to build on the nation’s successful foreign trade agenda and further increase non-oil exports, attract international trading and manufacturing companies, empower exporters with new technologies and tools, and identify new market opportunities around the world.