Abu Dhabi: Digital technologies play a major role in accelerating the global response to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy on Sunday.
Participating in the extraordinary G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting, which was attended by economic ministers of all G20 member states under the presidency of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Al Mansoori said while the countries of the world are joining forces to deal with the repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak and address the impact of the pandemic on various development sectors, most importantly public health and economic sectors, the significant role of digital technologies and related policies in driving these efforts have come to the fore.
The meeting discussed the role of digital technologies in enhancing business resilience and preserving jobs, lives and the global economy. In addition to setting options for policies to support the digital transformation of business models during the pandemic period, the development of policies for digital infrastructure, ICT-based innovation, ways to harness digital technologies to serve the society, as well as the role of digital economy in the creation of jobs and spurring economic growth were also discussed.
During the meeting, Al Mansoori explained that the UAE has made great progress in the field of digital transformation and has adopted Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, especially artificial intelligence, and its applications to drive the growth of the country’s vital sectors.
He said the most important measures taken by the UAE to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the business sector and to enable business continuity. The country is capitalizing on its advanced technological and smart infrastructure to ensure business continuity at both governmental and private levels, he said.
