Perhaps the recent announcement of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum regarding the laws surrounding the acceptance and protection of digital asset models is indicative of how serious the UAE is about technology and digital transformation. It has become the land of smart contacts and blockchain when buying real estate or trading cryptos.
As a matter of fact, the UAE is where one can hang out, shop, and meet friends on the metaverse. It is where one can even access telehealth from anywhere. And due to the introduction of 5G, the Fourth Industrial Revolution was born, and the Internet of Things is revolutionizing e-commerce and payment gateways.
As such, the UAE hosting an investment summit does not come as a surprise. Investopia, a global summit based in the UAE, is set to be held on March 28 in its first edition. It aims to provide a new space for innovation, creating opportunities and enabling future investments.
The importance of foreign investments
The UAE is well aware of the importance of foreign investments and their role in stimulating the economies and considers that attracting companies enjoying global success is one of the prominent goals of its strategic vision as a country.
Because of its interest in stimulating the economy, the UAE ranked first in the Arab world and 15th globally in the Kearney Confidence Index in Foreign Direct Investment last year, outperforming a number of major global economies within the overall ranking of the index, such as Singapore, Australia, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland, Brazil, and Finland.
Additionally, the UAE ranked 1st in the West Asia region in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2020, accounting for 54.4% of the total FDI inflow to the region, which amounted to $36.547 billion, with an increase of 9.4% of the inflows in the region from 2019.
Foreign Direct Investments into the UAE achieved a growth of 44.2% in 2020 compared to 2019 – reaching $19.88 billion – despite the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic that has cast a shadow on the volume of investment, trade, and world economies.
In the last ten years, the UAE achieved a cumulative amount of foreign investment amounting to 420 billion dirhams, with an average growth of up to 11%. On the other hand, the FDI outflows recorded 450 billion dirhams, with an average growth of 36%.
“Investopia”
From this standpoint, it was natural for the UAE to host a global investment summit, alongside Expo 2020 Dubai. It is one of the major strategic initiatives under the ‘Projects of the 50’ announced by the UAE Government in September 2021, which aims to launch 100 innovative ideas and new business opportunities in the world, the region, and the UAE.
Investopia agenda filled with investment goals
The Summit will feature more than 50 intellectuals and industry experts. It will also witness the participation of 300 government officials, investors and private sector experts, and academics, as well as a number of the largest global business incubators and accelerators.
It will provide the largest database of investment opportunities, incentives and facilities in various countries around the globe, as it will allow them to present their development projects, investment opportunities, incentives, and facilities to investors and the legislative environment regulating investment in those markets.
The summit aims to attract 550 billion dirhams of foreign investment by 2030 and one trillion dirhams by 2051.
The summit will specifically focus on promoting responsible and sustainable investments to maximize their developmental and social impact. It will also focus on investments in digital transformation – especially in trade, services, and digital supply chains – and review the shift to distance learning, remote working, and e-commerce, which paves the way for wider applications of artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, and 5G telecoms services, and ensures the stability in the lives of the citizens, companies, and governments in the future.
Official Website
In the same context, the Investopia Investment Summit launched its own official website aiming to reach the largest segment of investors, businessmen, decision-makers, and innovators around the world, and provide them with detailed information about the summit’s program, workshops, speakers, in addition to the registration to attend and participate in the summit.
“The summit website provides comprehensive information about it, so participants will be able to choose the suitable sessions for their business and interests, giving them the best opportunity to benefit from attending the summit,” H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, said in a statement.
Memorandum of Understanding with Accenture
Among the memoranda of understanding held by the summit, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Investopia Investment Summit and Accenture Middle East to cooperate in order to facilitate knowledge and experience exchange, as part of its preparations for the upcoming summit.
Accenture will serve as a knowledge partner for the Investopia summit, whereby the Ministry and the company will collaborate to facilitate knowledge and experience exchange in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and Blockchain, Fintech, and virtual reality technologies to enrich the summit’s discussions and workshops.
Partnership with “Deloitte” Middle East
Moreover, Investopia investment summit signed an MoU with Deloitte Middle East, for collaboration to enrich the Summit’s discussions and workshops. Under the terms of the agreement, the two parties will jointly study significant economic areas such as investments in virtual reality and artificial intelligence, standards of social and environmental sustainability and governance; promoting women’s participation in economic growth; and the role of government policy in driving economic recovery from the pandemic.
