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Mariam Al Mheiri speaks during a panel discussion at the Dubai event.
bay today, our reporter
The Gulf leaders underlined the importance of enhancing food security, participating in society and adopting the best technologies to increase food productivity, while also stressing the opportunity for Gulf countries to position themselves as global technology hubs, attracting specialists in artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
Speaking at the GCC Future Impact Forum at the crossroads of the Harvard Business School GCC Alumni Club, Mariam Al Mheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said that food security covers many elements, including agriculture, marketing and supply chain.
“Although more than 90 percent of the UAE’s food needs to be imported, it still enjoys stable food security,” he said at the meeting titled “Gulf Cooperation Council Food Security Strategy”.
“Given their strategic location and vast infrastructure, the UAE and GCC countries are well-positioned to play a significant global role in the food trade”.
“Through food technology and closed production systems, there will also be significant opportunities to increase food production despite the lack of adequate water and arable land. The UAE and the region should also diversify import sources to cope with any changes,” she added .
She said increased community involvement in promoting food safety was crucial and could be implemented by changing food consumption behaviour and reducing food waste, which contributes to food sustainability.
Ali Al Uraimi, CEO of Nakheel Oman Development Company, said that many geopolitical changes and challenges have been witnessed recently, requiring greater preparation by countries in the region.
“While the Sultanate of Oman and Saudi Arabia have many advantages over other countries in the region, namely abundant water resources and arable land, there are great opportunities for cooperation in food trade between GCC countries,” he said.
Samah Mohamed Al Hajeri, Director of Cooperation and Strategic Reserves at the UAE Ministry of Economy, said that there are many factors affecting global food security, so policies have been developed to support food security, ranging from pricing, importing, exporting, financing, establishing agricultural projects to meet the needs of GCC countries. food needs and priorities are very important.
Hamed Ahmed Al-Hamid, founder and CEO of Gracia Group, said marketing agricultural products and support for agricultural entrepreneurship are necessary.
“The food industry has always been linked to many factors, from the production process and quality control to consumers. Therefore, expanding the market and building a highly competitive agricultural industry requires us to redouble our efforts to promote agricultural and sideline products and support agricultural entrepreneurship,” he said.
Omar Sultan Olama. The UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications said that the digital sector in the GCC has grown and remained stable compared to the past decade, when revenue was negligible.
He said the UAE has seen a significant increase in the number of digital companies opening offices in the past five years due to increased confidence in the country and the ability of the GCC region to attract leading digital talent.
At the forum’s “Digital Economy: Are we doing it right?” at the conference, he said that the UAE now has at least eight unicorns — startups worth over $1 billion each — and that the country is securing a digital ecosystem The system favors a significant increase in this number.
“We’re just getting started, our regulations are good, but we always need to reinvent ourselves, we need to be leaders, not followers, to have the right regulations to make sure that what can be deployed elsewhere can be here Deployment first,” he said.
He added that the UAE is experiencing digital success due to its geographic location, attractive time zone for mobile digital talent and business-friendly environment, factors that play an important role in enabling the UAE to compete internationally and become a global leader in the the department.
JK Khalil, General Manager, Middle East and North Africa, Mastercard, UAE, also speaking at the conference, said the GCC region is in the right place with the right infrastructure to provide the latest payment solutions and necessary cybersecurity.
Fintech and digital bank wallets are becoming increasingly important along with other digital financial services, and in the GCC region, there is a strong interest in the sector from many new players in the field, as well as increased funding. The region will be at the forefront of digital payments, he said.
Britain. Ahmed Bin Abdullah Alolala, Deputy CEO of Saudi THIQAH Business Solutions, said the region has experienced significant technological innovation and disruption in recent years, particularly the adoption of blockchain and its impact on multi-party transactions.
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