UAE world’s most prepared nation for AI adoption as government accelerates Agentic AI transformation

The UAE has been declared the world’s most prepared nation for artificial intelligence adoption as the federal government accelerates an Agentic AI transformation that aims to convert 50% of government operations, procedures and services into AI assistant‑supported models within two years. The announcement came during an Agentic AI workshop in Dubai that brought together 600 employees from the Presidential Court and the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and outlined a national roadmap for redesigning government work around AI agents.

"The world is witnessing a fundamental transformation driven by artificial intelligence applications," said Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the Agentic AI Project Executive Committee. "Thanks to its proactive vision and early investments, the UAE occupies a leading global position in terms of readiness to adopt these transformations and harness them for development."

Al Gergawi framed the two‑year target to convert half of government services into AI assistant‑supported models as a strategic move to boost productivity, improve service quality and accelerate decision‑making. He emphasised that AI agents are meant to enhance human capabilities rather than replace staff, enabling "greater creativity, innovation and impact across government functions." The workshop featured specialised sessions and interactive tracks developed with international technology partners and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

Shamsa Jaber Al Falasi, Executive Director of Transformation and Development at the Presidential Court, said the transformation will pair technological build‑out with cultural change. She stressed that "meaningful transformation begins not with technology alone but with changing the way people think and make decisions," and highlighted initiatives such as sovereign AI infrastructure, the Diwan GPT platform and dedicated AI capability‑building programmes for employees.

The event included a panel with several senior officials involved in the national AI push: Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications; Maryam Al Hammadi, Minister of State and Secretary‑General of the Cabinet; and Huda Al Hashimi, Assistant Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs. Participants reviewed the move from experimentation to institutional adoption and examined AI tools already developed to support Cabinet operations, strategic planning, legislation and policy drafting.

Plan components and incentives

• Scope: Redesign government processes and specialised functions using AI‑powered technologies to achieve faster delivery and higher‑quality outputs.
• Training: Programmes to train employees to use AI agent tools and integrate them into workflows.
• Governance: Emphasis on quality, security and governance while shortening policy, legislative and institutional support timelines.
• Capacity: Collaboration with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and international partners to build national AI capabilities and sovereign infrastructure.
• Incentives: Launch of a Dh1 million award to recognise the three most impactful AI agents developed within the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs.
• Workforce engagement: A seven‑track programme explored accelerating AI assistant adoption in government workplaces.

Outlook

The government’s roadmap sets clear metrics and incentives to move AI from pilot projects to core institutional tools, with a high‑profile Dh1 million prize intended to spur practical innovation inside the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs. If implemented as outlined, the programme could substantially compress timelines for policy development, strategy formulation and service delivery while maintaining stated standards for security and governance. The coming months will test the government’s ability to scale AI agents across diverse functions while equipping hundreds of employees to work alongside these new systems.