The government of Abu Dhabi and Microsoft affirm private-public sector collaboration
12 December 2022; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
His Excellency Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, met with Samer Abu-Ltaif, Corporate Vice President & President of Microsoft Middle East & Africa and Naim Yazbeck, General Manager of Microsoft UAE, on the side-lines of a Microsoft regional event hosted in the UAE’s capital, where the global technology company reiterated its commitment to the emirate, its government, and its business community.
His Excellency Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa stated: “Advancements in digital Tech continue to be the one over-riding disruptor driving growth and diversification for any economy and infrastructure at this day in age. Our various strategic collaborations with many multi-national entities, be it blue-chip heavyweight brands like Microsoft, and other key Tech and artificial intelligence parties of various backgrounds and focused specialities, are a necessity to ensure infrastructure and future readiness. I was pleased to have attended and spoke at the Microsoft MEA Summit; the Government of Abu Dhabi will continue to work with all public and private stakeholders, including with GCC cross-border initiatives, to flesh out the right frameworks and environments required to take maintain competitive advantages and alongside global peer cities.”
Samer Abu-Ltaif, Corporate Vice President and President: Microsoft Middle East and Africa said: “Microsoft has served as a proud, longstanding partner to the leadership of Abu Dhabi in its journey to establish the Emirate as a regional hub for technological innovation. Our investments in infrastructure and skilling, coupled with our steadfast commitment to growing and empowering our local partner network, demonstrate our devotion to supporting the leadership in bringing Abu Dhabi’s Economic vision to life. Through our ongoing collaboration, we will continue to maximize every opportunity to support the Emirate’s development journey – economic, societal, environmental, educational, and more.”
Since the launch of its UAE data centers, Microsoft and its partners have collaborated with a range of entities to accelerate digital transformation across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, and Etihad Airways. An IDC study released at GITEX Global 2022 shows Microsoft’s UAE cloud ecosystem will generate US$8 in partner revenue for every dollar earned by Microsoft in the country, while generating some US$39 billion of new revenues and almost 100,000 jobs between now and 2026.
Pictured are: Samer Abu-Ltaif, Corporate Vice President and President of Microsoft Middle East and Africa, His Excellency Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Omar Mohamed Al Naqbi, Executive Director, Executive Affairs Office, Naim Yazbeck, General Manager, Microsoft UAE.
