Omar Sultan Al Olama, Deputy Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation, gives an opening remarks at Dubai Future Forum at Museum of the Future in Dubai. Photo:Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
Omar Sultan Al Olama, Deputy Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation, gives an opening remarks at Dubai Future Forum at Museum of the Future in Dubai. Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News

Dubai: Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Work Applications and Deputy Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation, on Monday highlighted the importance of a futuristic vision in the success story of the UAE, calling it a beacon of hope for not just the Middle East, but the world.

He was delivering the opening remarks of the 2023 Dubai Future Forum, the largest gathering of futurists in the world, that is being held at Dubai’s Museum of the Future on November 27 and 28.

Addressing the gathering at the start of the forum, Al Olama said that from the very beginning, the UAE’s leaders had a vision for the country to be a global nation and to not just focus on its own needs but that of the world. The approach was always that “the UAE was the world in a country, not a country in the world,” Al Olama said.

Creating hope

Dubai Future Forum Opening remarks by Omar Al Olama
Delegates listening to Omar Sultan Al Olama, Deputy Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation, as he gives an opening remarks at Dubai Future Forum in Museum of the Future in Dubai. Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News

From helping children across the world to have access to education during the COVID-19 pandemic to projects like the Mars Hope Probe, Al Olama spoke about how the UAE has always been a source of hope and building a strong future for people across the world. The UAE itself has always welcomed people from across the world, who are looking to build a better future for themselves and others, he said.

“The 200 nationalities shape the future and it will keep us in the lead in the foreseeable future.

No matter where you are from … because you dream of the future and you want to impact it in a positive manner, the UAE can be your springboard. This will be the continuous fact for the future,” he said.