Why AI sovereignty demands trusted partners, not just technology

Across the Middle East, governments are moving past deploying pre-built AI tools and platforms from outside providers. The next phase is building sovereign infrastructure, growing domestic talent and putting governance in place to own and control AI long-term.

TELUS Digital and TELUS Health are entities of TELUS, a leading Canadian telecommunications and global technology company that has spent more than a decade building AI leadership of its own. Since 2023, TELUS has delivered more than $600 million in measurable AI-driven benefits, built Canada’s first sovereign AI factory, home to the country’s fastest and most powerful supercomputer according to the TOP500 list, earned the world’s first Privacy by Design certification for a generative AI solution and is one of only 20 companies worldwide in the OECD’s Pilot Framework for Advanced AI Systems. TELUS Digital and TELUS Health each apply this foundation within their respective domains of enterprise AI and digital transformation and health technology.

“There’s growing interest across the Middle East to work with full-service partners who can support everything from strategy through to designing and building digital experiences, AI platforms and customer solutions at scale,” said Tobias Dengel, President of TELUS Digital, global technology service provider specializing in AI-powered digital customer experiences (CX) and future-focused digital transformations. “That’s exactly where we excel, bringing together consulting and product strategy with deep expertise in AI, computer vision and automation to help our clients build intelligent, future-ready experiences.”

Governments and enterprises across the region are actively seeking global partners who can support the full AI lifecycle responsibly. to build alliances with global partners that can support the full AI lifecycle responsibly, TELUS Digital stands out.

The company has operations in more than 35 countries around the world, and expanded into the Middle East with a new Dubai office. In the region, TELUS Digital offers an end-to-end portfolio of digital transformation and AI services, spanning front-end experience design, strategy consulting and enterprise AI solutions, built to support large-scale government and private sector initiatives.

“The sheer scale of ambition and commitment to digitization in the Middle East is truly inspiring,” continued Dengel. “We see the region as one of the most exciting global markets, characterized by rapid growth, a robust investment profile and proactive government support for AI, with an opportunity to leapfrog to a leading global position.”

Enabling AI at scale

Unlocking AI’s potential relies on enterprise-grade platforms, trusted data flows, and infrastructure designed for reliability and security. For many organizations, that means modernizing their digital environment first, before advanced AI can be introduced safely and sustainably.

“Our clients need certainty before they’ll trust AI in mission-critical environments,” said Dengel. “TELUS Digital brings the hard-won perspective of Canadian and U.S. organizations deploying AI at scale while upholding rigorous safety and security standards, backed by a track record in regulated industries, to help clients move from foundational readiness to full AI deployment.”

People, talent, and opportunity

Ultimately, a country’s digital capabilities show up in the impact on its citizens, including long-term talent development. By building and operating digital and AI platforms locally, countries can ensure the skills, expertise and value created remain embedded within the economy. This perspective reflects growing alignment between UAE and Canadian priorities around trusted digital infrastructure, responsible AI, and skills development.

Strong digital ecosystems also translate into tangible benefits such as government services that operate 24/7, institutions that can withstand cyber threats, and competitive advantages in high-value fields like education, workforce development and healthcare.

TELUS Digital’s Middle East operation is built to support this type of work, across sectors including energy, transportation, logistics, education, financial services, telecom, media, hospitality and retail.

Healthcare as a high-impact application

AI can drive improvements across the healthcare sector, from enhancing secure data management, analyzing vast datasets, improving clinical, operational, and administrative outcomes and strengthening coordination between human expertise and digital systems.

TELUS Health is a global health technology innovator serving approximately 159 million individuals across 200 countries and territories, with a proven model for translating digital and AI capability into real-world healthcare outcomes. The company is focused on building the healthiest communities and workplaces on the planet through improving workforce wellbeing and expanding digital infrastructure that enables healthcare ecosystems to operate securely, cohesively and efficiently.

“Trust in healthcare is more important and under scrutiny compared to almost any other sector,” says Mohamed El-Demerdash, President of TELUS Health. “Secure, integrated digital platforms can support better coordination between clinicians, enable prevention-focused approaches, and improve access, including for mental health and wellbeing services, all while protecting personal health information.”

Drawing on global experience, TELUS Health views scalable and secure digital systems as an important enabler of sustainable healthcare transformation. In practice, this means leveraging AI to streamline administrative workflows, optimize operations, and surface actionable clinical insights at the point of care. By connecting siloed datasets across public and private health networks, AI-driven tools enable clinicians to transition from reactive treatment to proactive, personalized wellness management.

Crucially, implementing AI in healthcare requires strict adherence to digital sovereignty and patient privacy. Building on TELUS’ world-first Privacy by Design accreditation for generative AI, TELUS Health ensures that sensitive electronic health records and diagnostic data remain protected under local regulatory frameworks. This architectural security builds essential public trust while giving health authorities the confidence to deploy advanced machine learning at a national scale.

The company’s focus on strategic alliances and future investment in the UAE kicked off with the alignment with M42’s Abu Dhabi Health Data Services (ADHDS), announced earlier this year at the 2026 World Health Expo in Dubai. This collaboration illustrates how sovereign data exchange platforms can enhance population health analytics, accelerate clinical decision-making, and expand access to preventative care for millions of residents across the region.

El-Demerdash reiterates that healthcare will remain a priority area for collaboration as the UAE advances secure, technology-enabled models of care that place people at the center.

“As leaders look beyond AI adoption to prioritize AI capability, we see real opportunities. Aligning with regional healthcare leaders who share a common vision in developing next-generation solutions will allow us to move healthcare from reactive to predictive, and enable personalized wellness at scale, so together we can strengthen digital healthcare infrastructure to drive greater efficiency and access to care.”

Looking ahead

As the UAE accelerates its AI Strategy 2031, the region’s ambitions offer international partners a real opportunity to help build sovereign capability at scale and to support the shift from adopting AI to owning it.”

“The UAE understands the importance of building this capability at home,” Dengel said. “Between TELUS Digital’s work on enterprise AI and digital transformation and TELUS Health’s work on secure, connected healthcare, we’re excited to keep growing alongside our clients here as that ambition accelerates, and to be a long-term partner in what comes next.”