Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, noted that advanced technologies have the potential to revolutionise global trade and unleash a new era of growth by increasing operational efficiencies, enhancing supply-chain resilience and facilitating the participation of new players in the global trading system.
The statement came during a press conference held at the World Economic Forum (WEF) today to tackle the digital transformation of global trade.
The meeting in Davos marks the first-year anniversary of the launch of the TradeTech Global, a joint initiative by the UAE and WEF to accelerate the integration of tools such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and the Internet of Things into supply chains.
The press conference followed the launch of a new report published by the UAE Ministry of Economy and the World Economic Forum entitled “TradeTech: Catalysing Innovation”, which emphasised how the integration of technology into the global trading system will add US$9 trillion to the value of trade among the G7 nations – with wider catalytic potential for developing and least developed countries across the world.
The report offered a detailed roadmap for governments, global trade bodies and the private sector to collaborate on the development, deployment and regulation of technologies across supply chains, which will serve to modernise international trade and, in doing so, expand its reach and accelerate its growth. This includes establishing interoperable digital infrastructure, regulatory support and entrepreneurial ecosystems. It also identifies several sectors within global trade primed for significant technological disruption, including logistics, trade finance and supply-chain sustainability, which are all set to be enhanced by technological adoption.
Dr Thani was joined at the press conference by Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.
They each underlined the role of technology in making global trade cheaper, more efficient and more accessible, especially in the Least Developed Countries. They also stressed the necessity of the public and private sectors working closely together to create the right regulatory frameworks and interoperable systems to maximise their impact.
Dr Thani also confirmed plans for a trade tech incubator, which will support promising new projects and startups in the trade tech space, underlining the UAE’s commitment to providing the right ecosystem for innovation and ideation. A new regulatory sandbox, specifically created to co-design, implement, pilot, and promote a set of cutting-edge regulatory policies for trade tech, was also announced at this year’s Davos.
Other components of the Trade Tech Global initiative include the Trade Tech Alliance, which will bring leaders, CEOs and experts together to share best knowledge and identify constructive and collaborative paths forward, and the TradeTech Forum, which will be held in the UAE in parallel with the World Trade Organisation’s 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi in February 2024.
Dr Al Zeyoudi underscored the importance of harnessing the global community to make real headway on these issues.
“The UAE believes digital transformation is the best tool to navigate global supply chains’ challenges, from access to operational efficiency. As a long-time advocate of trade tech’s potential, I know that fully realising its promise requires engaged and constructive partnerships between innovators, implementors, users and regulators. We as governments have to be bold and proactive in building the physical and legal infrastructure that technology needs to truly transform trade. We continue to make important strides forward and, as chair of MC13, I look forward to furthering the integration of trade tech tools and eliminating the roadblocks to their implementation,” he noted.
