Dubai establishes itself as the Digital Capital of the Middle East

With a series of remarkable achievements in smart transformation in 2019, Dubai has emerged as the undisputed Digital Capital of the Middle East, a status endorsed by leading global reports on smart cities, Smart Dubai has revealed.

Over the year, the emirate has significantly expanded its technical capabilities and widened its smart transformation efforts to cover all operations and services of Dubai Government. A host of recent global reports have ranked Dubai ahead of major international cities in the field of smart transformation.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said that all indicators point to the success of Dubai’s plans and programmes in smart transformation and validate the steady progress the Dubai government has made in achieving the vision and directives of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in making Dubai the smartest city globally.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan said Dubai’s government departments and entities are committed to keeping pace with rapid developments in smart technologies and are implementing comprehensive integrated strategies for transformation, guided by a clear vision.

His Highness noted the far-reaching positive impact of smart transformation projects, which includes considerable progress in competitiveness indicators. He stressed that excellence in this field catalyses Dubai’s economic and sustainable development objectives and brings significant reduction of operational expenses. It also facilitates more efficient procedures, speeding up the processing of transactions, licenses and contracts for businesses. Additionally, he said the success of Dubai’s smart transformation has positively impacted the environment and resource conservation.

His Highness thanked all Dubai government departments and entities that have contributed to making Dubai a leader among the world’s smart cities. He praised Smart Dubai’s contributions saying: “We are proud of our accomplishments, which would not have been possible without the combined efforts of government entities and the collaborative spirit they have shown in overcoming challenges. We are looking to deepen cooperation between stakeholders to implement new initiatives and projects that can help Dubai consolidate its leadership among global smart cities. I’m confident that we can achieve this goal soon.”

Dubai has cemented its reputation as the Digital Capital of the Middle East following the series of remarkable digital transformations it accomplished since the launch of the Smart Dubai initiative in 2015. Dubai is the first city in the region and one of the world’s first cities to launch an all-encompassing Smart City Initiative that covers all economic and social sectors. The advances made by Dubai are the result of Smart Dubai’s collaboration with partners from the government and private sectors in several fields.

Her Excellency Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General of Smart Dubai, said: “We are nearing the end of yet another remarkable year crowned by many achievements for Dubai. We are proud to stand alongside partners from the government and private sectors as part of an integrated team that made this possible. Four years after the launch of Dubai’s smart transformation journey, which was inspired and led by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, and following the directives of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, we have made significant strides at local and global levels and established Dubai as the Digital Capital of the Middle East.”

“Our ambition is not limited to being a regional leader but also includes becoming number one internationally, in line with our leadership’s vision to establish not only Dubai but also the UAE as a global leader in government excellence that places people’s wellbeing at the centre of its efforts,” Her Excellency Dr Aisha added.

According to the World Competitiveness Center of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), one of the largest academic bodies specialised in this field worldwide, Dubai topped the MENA region in the “Smart Cities Index 2019”. The Index issued in October 2019, which evaluated 102 cities, ranked Dubai ahead of many major cities such as Paris, Rome, Brussels, Tokyo and Beijing.

In February, Dubai also led the MENA region in the Smart Cities Index 2019 issued by the University of Glasgow. The Index ranked Dubai 14th among 27 cities, ahead of major global cities such as Los Angeles, Stockholm, Melbourne, Tokyo, Vancouver, Vienna, Shanghai, Copenhagen, Beijing and Brussels.