UAE’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations Get A Dubai-Tech Touch

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is preparing to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary.  The country rightfully deserves special celebrations on the occasion of golden jubilee because it has successfully surmounted multiple challenges at different points of time, anchoring on its strengths. The country has kept pace with the changes sweeping across the world with some smart moves and initiatives which has no other parallel anywhere in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. And, it all started with its decision to position itself as a knowledge-based economy.

“UAE’s is an inspiring transformational story.  If you ask me, I would say, it was Dubai which started the change. The city, no doubt, faced stiff challenges.  But, it bounced back, stunning everyone.  In the process, it set new benchmarks for the entire country,” said Benny Mathew, once a long-time Dubai resident and investment banker.

Mathew says when Dubai started investing in technology in the mid 1990s, there were many skeptics.  “Many thought Dubai and technology were like water and fire.  But, they have all been disproved now,” he said.  “During my time there it was all about real estate and tall buildings but today not only Dubai but the entire UAE has much more,” he pointed out.

Latif Ussainar, a dealer in construction materials in Dubai, says even an orthodox sector like real-estate is infusing new and emerging technologies:  “I belong to the old generation. But my son who will take over my business very soon tells me that construction today is not just about cement and bricks. He says 3D-printing buildings are the future.”

Ussainar trusts his son who is an engineering graduate with a thorough understanding of technology.  It is not just with the construction firm of Ussainar, but across the UAE, there is the signature of the youth, particularly, the Indian youth, cutting across different sectors.  Indians, in fact, form 30% of Dubai’s startup community.

Dubai’s insatiable thirst for knowledge and tryst with technology seems to be a thing in continuum.  The upcoming 41st Edition of GITEX Global scheduled for October 17-21 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) which celebrates the interconnected power of technology ranging from AI to Fintech and BigData to Cybersecurity only confirms this.

The young professionals completely appreciate and endorse the relevance of tech-shows like GITEX that supports young entrepreneurs, women in tech and tech developers and bring to light present and future innovations in Blockchain, Quantum Computing and Immersive Marketing. 

In its golden jubilee year, experts have no two opinion the UAE has already taken the leadership position in the MENA region through a number of reforms and forward-looking policies.  “It would be difficult for others to catch up with the UAE,” averred R.M.Dharmadurai, a Singapore-based geo-political analyst with special interest in the Middle East.

According to Dharmadurai, the occasion of golden jubilee is a subtle announcement to the world that the UAE has arrived with Dubai as its nerve centre.  “So, it makes sense for India to deeper its collaboration with the UAE. I can see lots of investments flowing back and forth between the two countries,” he added, saying, “Together the two countries could make history.”

Disclaimer: Content Produced by Business in Dubai