Why Is UAE’s Minister of State for AI Bullish on the Indian Startup Ecosystem?

Many industrialized nations now view India as their main strategic partner in advancing the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) as a result of its remarkable ascent to become one of the largest digital economies.

To be sure, this is happening at a time when India is well poised to become a trillion-dollar digital economy by FY26. And let’s not forget, the country’s tech startup ecosystem is booming despite a funding winter.

At the Gitex Global 2023 summit organized in Dubai, the Minister of State (Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications) and the chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, H.E. Omar Sultan AlOlama, did not restrain from acknowledging the startup powerhouse that India has become today and the kind of solutions that are emerging from the seventh largest country in the world.

Sharing his enthusiasm towards the Indian market, in an exclusive interaction with Inc42, AlOlama said, “The startup ecosystem in India is unparalleled anywhere on earth. The number of unicorns coming up in India, the sheer quality of talent and the kind of solutions India is creating are proving to be the world’s benchmark… The UAE and India complement each other. In terms of diversity, we have people from all nationalities coming to the Emirates, our banking infrastructure is global, and we need to capture the bar of the global market, so we can actually complement each other in this.”

For those who are unaware, the United Arab Emirates and India recently inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abu Dhabi to cooperate in fields like advanced technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), industry 4.0, health and life sciences, supply chain resilience, renewable energy and energy efficiency, standardization, and metrology.

Under the MoU, the UAE and India will also collaborate in the deployment of 4IR technologies in industry, real-time data processing, the development of machine-to-machine control systems, the development of autonomous robotics, equipment and vehicles, as well as the deployment of additive manufacturing in key industries.

In 2018 as well, the UAE joined hands with India to develop artificial intelligence (AI) with plans to generate $20 Bn in economic benefits during the next decade.

"I'm collaborating with the Indian government to find the best means to provide optimal cross-border connection between the United Arab Emirates and India. I am very excited to look forward to it to happen,” AlOlama added.

Appreciating India’s success with the UPI, he said that the world can learn from India’s UPI example.

“Conventional wisdom tells you that smaller countries can move faster than bigger countries, however, India has changed this conviction. The UPI is an example we all can learn from. This can be taken as a benchmark for countries of different sizes, regions and cultures,” he added.