Even as experts debate the application of Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence in governance and their potential exploitation, India and UAE have taken a bold step by entering into partnership in these areas which looks to generate an estimated USD20 billion as economic benefits in the next decade.
Recognising the importance of UAE as an investor in India, Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu in Mumbai last week put in place a fast track mechanism headed by Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
On Tuesday, UAE ambassador to India Dr Ahmed Albanna held the first meeting with DIPP Secretary Abhishek with focus on "fast-tracking the issues."
DIPP Secretary described it as "a very useful first meeting" with the ambassador. "We are committed to addressing all the issues at the earliest to realize the full potential of our relationship," he said.
Prabhu has also set up a dedicated UAE Plus help desk manned by Arabic speaking officials under Invest India, the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of the Indian government which is the first point of reference for the global investment community.
An MoU for "India-UAE Artificial Intelligence Bridge" was signed between UAE Minister of Artificial Intelligence Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama and MD and CEO, Invest India, Deepak Bagla on July 27 "for mutual cooperation across developing areas like Blockchain, AI and Analytics to improve overall governance through convergence."
The 27-year old UAE minister Olama is leading the vision of Dubai to become the regional hub of AI within a decade.
Indian commerce ministry is a release said the collaboration is expected to "generate an estimated USD 20 billion in economic benefits during the next decade for both countries and by 2035 AI can potentially add USD 957 billion to the Indian economy."
"The MoU will spur development across areas like Blockchain, AI and Analytics as data and processing will be a catalyst for innovation and business growth and serve as the backbone of more effective and efficient service delivery systems," the ministry said.
Commerce minister Prabhu appreciated the effort made by UAE on leading the initiative to change the government and governance through technology and reiterated India’s commitment to UAE in the field of AI.
The UAE-India collaboration will seek to evaluate the dynamic nature of innovation and technology by convening a UAE-India AI Working Group between the UAE Ministry for Artificial Intelligence, Invest India and Startup India. The working group will meet once a year with the mandate to increase investment in AI startups and research activities in partnership with the private sector.
The UAE has invested over USD 5.3 billion in India and infrastructure is one of the top 5 focus areas of UAE-India bilateral trade. The Gulf nation has committed USD 75 billion towards infrastructure development in India. The Indian government aims to exploit the potential of AI in the areas of agriculture supply, healthcare and disaster management services.