HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, emphasized the UAE’s strategic vision to become a global technology hub during his visit to Google’s offices in Dubai Innovation Hub. He reiterated the UAE’s commitment to advancing digital transformation, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), to shape the future of the nation.
During the visit, Sheikh Hamdan was welcomed by Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google, along with other senior Google executives. He was briefed on Google’s AI initiatives, including the Gemini personal assistant and NotebookLM application, both powered by AI. The discussions also highlighted the positive economic impact of Google’s products, such as Search, YouTube, Maps, Cloud, and Ads, which were featured in the first-ever Google Economic Impact Report for the UAE.
Sheikh Hamdan also visited the Google Accessibility Discovery Center in Dubai, which is the first and only one of its kind in the MENA region. Google’s ongoing support for the UAE’s digital transformation goals was demonstrated through initiatives like the ‘Grow with Google’ program, which has trained around 420,000 individuals in AI technologies for business growth.
In his statement, Sheikh Hamdan expressed appreciation for Google’s role in accelerating the UAE’s technological development and reiterated Dubai’s ambition to be a global leader in tech innovation. This is aligned with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to generate AED100 billion annually from digital transformation and cement Dubai’s position as a global digital economy hub.
The visit was accompanied by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, and Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director-General of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism.
