Today, the United Arab Emirates is solidifying its status as a leading global hub for artificial intelligence, guided by visionary leadership, extensive strategic investments, and ambitious government initiatives that drive digital transformation across all sectors. In this context, G42 emerges as a key national driver of this momentum. Through its pioneering projects and international partnerships, G42 has played a pivotal role in enhancing the UAE’s position as a regional and global platform for artificial intelligence, empowering the country to attract investments, localize advanced technologies, and accelerate the adoption of AI solutions in vital sectors.

To sustain this leadership and reinforce the UAE’s unchallenged sovereignty in the field of artificial intelligence, it is essential to advance to a new phase centered on developing a “national sovereign cloud,” both terrestrial and space-based. Just as the country has successfully built its terrestrial infrastructure through the “terrestrial artificial intelligence complex,” the current direction points toward creating a parallel framework in space through the development of “space cloud sovereignty.” This vision relies on establishing an integrated satellite constellation to provide high-speed, secure communications, paving the way for the creation of a “space artificial intelligence complex.” Such a system will enable the UAE to manage and operate terrestrial and space-based AI data centers on a global scale, ensuring a distinct strategic edge within an integrated national sovereign cloud architecture and further consolidating its position as a global hub for AI-driven solutions across all sectors.

In a move that reflects these ambitions, the UAE and the United States have announced a joint initiative to establish an “artificial intelligence complex” in Abu Dhabi, known as “Stargate UAE.” This project is the largest AI infrastructure announced to date, spanning an area of ten square miles and supported by a power capacity of up to five gigawatts, sufficient to operate approximately 2.5 million Nvidia B200 chips, making it one of the most advanced AI complexes in the world.

Why is building the foundations of space leadership essential for the UAE?

Securing national data through sovereign cross-border satellite constellations has become a critical security requirement in a world increasingly dependent on space for vital operations. This step is increasingly important due to the scarcity of space spectrum resources and their regulation under the strict “first come, first served” principle, which drives major global powers to accelerate efforts to secure these strategic assets in order to safeguard their national security and expand their geopolitical influence.

For the UAE, taking the initiative to secure available space spectrum resources and establish a sovereign satellite constellation is no longer a developmental option but a strategic necessity. It is essential to prevent a future state of “spectral deprivation” that could constrain the country’s ability to build advanced space infrastructure. Possessing a national constellation in low Earth orbit would guarantee the continuity of critical communications, safeguard government systems, and protect national data within an independent, sovereign, and continuously operating environment. This, in turn, would strengthen the UAE’s position among “space sovereign states” and enhance its international political influence and soft power.

Building space leadership assets as an integrated extension of terrestrial leadership assets, represented by the “artificial intelligence complex,” is a fundamental step in consolidating the UAE’s position in the global race to dominate low Earth orbit. This approach is also consistent with the country’s long-term national strategy to position itself as a central player in the global communications and artificial intelligence ecosystem.

Once developed, this space leadership will ensure reliable connectivity at the local, regional, and international levels, reinforcing the UAE’s status as a neutral hub for global communications infrastructure and enabling it to support AI applications worldwide. Upon completion, the Low Earth Orbit Satellite Constellation will serve as a vital enabling platform built on high-speed, secure space networks that utilize laser and microwave links, forming a structural extension of the country’s hybrid communications infrastructure.

These space constellations are expected to strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading global hub for artificial intelligence development and applications by providing unprecedented infrastructure in the region. They will grant the country advanced digital autonomy and data sovereignty, ensuring full control over its sensitive information while reducing dependence on external infrastructure, thereby enhancing digital security and consolidating technological sovereignty. This leadership will also establish a high-performance computing platform that enables government and private institutions to efficiently and rapidly utilize the latest global AI models. Moreover, it will accelerate innovation and scientific discovery in key sectors such as health, education, energy, transportation, and defense.

In this context, the “artificial intelligence complex” in Abu Dhabi, which will be established and operated by G42 in partnership with American companies, represents a strategic lever for strengthening the UAE’s capabilities in AI data centers. This facility will provide massive computing power that enables governments, institutions, and companies around the world to access high-performance cloud services that effectively serve both the region and the globe.

The project comes at a time when global AI systems rely on millions of continuously operating servers to generate the processing capacity required for basic models and machine learning applications. The “Stargate UAE” complex in Abu Dhabi marks a significant strategic step aimed at reinforcing the UAE’s position as a leading global hub for artificial intelligence. Its role is not limited to being a large-scale data center; rather, it represents superior infrastructure capable of accelerating innovation and driving digital transformation at both the national and international levels.

How Does the Space Cloud Enhance the Terrestrial Cloud in the Field of Artificial Intelligence?

The space cloud is not a replacement for the terrestrial cloud; rather, it serves as a strategic extension and complementary structural advancement that enhances artificial intelligence capabilities through three key mechanisms that transform how data is collected, processed, and utilized at both terrestrial and space levels.

1. Expanding data and processing

The space cloud enables the creation of space-based data centers connected through integrated, highly secure satellite networks, allowing for the following:

• Collecting data from unconventional sources such as satellites, orbital sensors, and space platforms, thereby greatly expanding the scope of data available for intelligent processing.
• Processing data in space before transmitting it to Earth reduces response time, alleviates pressure on terrestrial infrastructure, and facilitates operations that once required specialized ground-based centers.
• Supporting real-time AI models, particularly in sensitive applications such as national security, environmental monitoring, emergencies, and defense operations, where immediate access to and analysis of data become operational necessities.

 2. Achieving hybrid integration (Hybrid AI cloud)

The integration of terrestrial and space clouds creates a flexible hybrid system that provides a balanced structure based on the distribution of tasks between the terrestrial and space layers according to the nature of the need. This integration enables:

• Smart segmentation of workloads, where large-scale model training occurs on the ground while rapid execution and analysis take place in space, closer to the data source.
• Enhanced data sovereignty by ensuring that sensitive data remains within the national terrestrial cloud, while non-sensitive or temporary data is processed in space, adding an extra layer of sovereign security.
• Reduced operational costs by utilizing space resources only when needed, avoiding unnecessary expansion of terrestrial infrastructure, and thus providing greater flexibility in managing technological resources.

3. Empowering artificial intelligence to make decisions in remote environments

In environments that lack strong terrestrial infrastructure—such as expansive deserts, oceans, or outer space—the space cloud offers independent capabilities to operate AI models, supporting:

• Intelligent, real-time decision-making in contexts that require high speed and precision, such as the control of drones, spacecraft, and autonomous platforms.
• Scientific missions and autonomous military units through advanced analytical capabilities, without the need for continuous contact with the ground or the home country, granting them high operational independence and improving mission effectiveness.

What Does Space Cloud Sovereignty Mean for Ensuring Superiority in Artificial Intelligence?

Space cloud sovereignty refers to a country’s full ownership and control over its space-based digital infrastructure for communications and data processing. This includes broadband satellite systems designed to deliver high-speed global connectivity, with complete national authority over the data transmitted through these networks, as well as control over the technology used in space and the terrestrial infrastructure that supports it.

Such sovereignty enables the country to guarantee the integrity and speed of digital information flow, reducing response times for continuous, ground-based AI operations while ensuring comprehensive global coverage. The space cloud architecture serves as a vital extension of terrestrial cloud systems, securing national independence in data collection, processing, and storage without relying on foreign infrastructure. This independence is a cornerstone of superiority in artificial intelligence. By merging digital sovereignty with spatial sovereignty over data, it establishes a strategic foundation that empowers countries to compete effectively in the global AI race.

The integration of terrestrial cloud sovereignty and space cloud sovereignty leads to what is known as cloud sovereignty, which entails full national control over all data and cloud infrastructure used to operate artificial intelligence technologies and algorithms in accordance with national laws and regulations. This sovereignty constitutes the foundation of data sovereignty, ensuring that strategic data linked to national security remains within national borders and is protected from any form of foreign access or surveillance. It can be further strengthened through technological superiority and comprehensive control over physical components (hardware), software, and operational algorithms. Such control grants the country complete operational independence, even in cases of internet disruption or disconnection from global networks, by enabling the operation of internally isolated systems that ensure the continuity and security of critical functions.

In this context, space cloud sovereignty, together with terrestrial cloud sovereignty, represents far more than a technical advancement or a scientific achievement; it embodies a national geopolitical strategy aimed at enabling the country to control what can be described as “sovereign intelligence,” which is artificial intelligence developed, managed, and operated within a secure and independent national environment. This strategy helps eliminate all forms of dependence on foreign technological structures and shields the country from external dominance while paving the way for achieving autonomous superiority in high-performance artificial intelligence. With forecasts suggesting that about 90% of future data centers could be located in space within the next two decades, the race to establish space cloud sovereignty becomes a decisive pursuit for scientifically and technologically advanced nations.

Therefore, space cloud sovereignty is not a technological luxury but a strategic necessity for any country aspiring to lead in the field of artificial intelligence. It grants control over global digital resources, safeguards national data from external threats, accelerates scientific and technological innovation, ensures technological superiority, and strengthens national security in an age defined by data and algorithms—an era in which global power is shaped by those who possess knowledge and control over intelligent, cross-border infrastructures.

Why Is National Terrestrial and Space Cloud Sovereignty so Important to the UAE?

National cloud sovereignty, in both its terrestrial and space dimensions, constitutes one of the core pillars of national security and technological advancement in the United Arab Emirates. Its significance stands out amid the global shift toward a digital economy, the growing wave of cyber threats, and the intensifying strategic competition among countries in artificial intelligence and cross-border digital infrastructure. The key benefits of this sovereignty can be summarized as follows, highlighting its academic and strategic dimensions:

1. Transforming data into the “new oil” of the digital economy

Data has become the most important and influential strategic asset of our time. Countries capable of collecting, analyzing, and controlling data wield economic, political, financial, and security power that surpasses what traditional resources once offered. Cloud sovereignty is the primary mechanism that guarantees the country’s authority over this essential asset, enabling the UAE to safeguard and manage its national data within an independent, sovereign, and legislatively protected framework free from foreign interference or external constraints.

2. Confronting evolving cyber threats

In recent years, the world has witnessed an unprecedented surge in the scale and sophistication of cyberattacks, many of which are supported by international actors. In this environment, cloud sovereignty serves as the country’s first line of defense, ensuring the existence of a secure, locally managed digital infrastructure capable of resisting cyber threats, responding to them quickly and effectively, and protecting government systems and vital national services from hacking or disruption.

3. Strengthening comprehensive digital sovereignty

Cloud sovereignty forms the foundation for achieving comprehensive digital sovereignty, which includes the national ability to exercise full control over every component of its digital ecosystem, from communications networks and operating systems to software platforms, applications, and smart services. The integration between terrestrial and space clouds represents a pivotal step toward ensuring digital independence, reducing reliance on foreign infrastructure, and establishing a trusted environment for managing highly sensitive artificial intelligence applications.

4. Building a national digital economy

The development of national data centers and local cloud infrastructure plays a vital role in strengthening the country’s digital economy. It creates high-value job opportunities, fosters the growth of emerging technology sectors, and empowers local companies to innovate and compete on a global scale. This approach also enhances the UAE’s capacity to host international corporations in a trusted and sovereign digital environment and positions it as a strategic player in the global knowledge economy.

In light of these foundations, national cloud sovereignty, both terrestrial and space, is no longer a technical option or a digital luxury; it has become a cornerstone of national security in the twenty-first century. It safeguards the confidentiality of strategic information, protects state decision-making from external influence, and ensures the continuity of vital services in an increasingly competitive and high-risk digital environment. Any nation that ignores this dimension risks placing its digital future and national security at the mercy of external powers whose interests may diverge from its own. Thus, investing in this sovereignty is a strategic choice that cannot be overlooked.

The Relationship Between Space Cloud Sovereignty and National Security

The sovereignty of the space cloud is directly and fundamentally linked to national security, as it represents the sovereign extension of the state in both cyberspace and outer space simultaneously. This extension enables the state to maintain full control over its sovereign data and the artificial intelligence infrastructures connected to it, without relying on foreign service providers or networks outside national control. Therefore, the space cloud constitutes a central element in strengthening the state’s digital sovereignty and protecting its national security. The sovereign cloud can be designed in alignment with national laws related to data residency, operational independence, and regulatory requirements, ensuring that sensitive data remains exclusively under national jurisdiction, away from foreign laws that may conflict with national interests.

In this context, the sovereignty of the space cloud ensures that sensitive and critical data—such as defense and intelligence data, military communications, critical infrastructure information, and highly sensitive personal data—is stored within the legal and technical jurisdiction of the state. This reduces risks associated with digital espionage and cyberattacks from external powers while enabling the state to control data flows, enhancing its digital defense capabilities and reinforcing the independence of national decision-making. Strategically, integrating the space cloud with traditional space capabilities (such as communication satellites, Earth observation satellites, and command-and-control systems) creates a new sovereign layer within the national defense system, akin to sovereignty on land, sea, air, and outer space.

Thus, the sovereignty of the space cloud constitutes a key element of national security, especially amid rapid digital transformation and the growing reliance of government institutions and critical sectors on cloud computing services. Space-enabled cloud sovereignty ensures that all sensitive national data and critical operational systems are governed by national laws and regulations, stored and processed within the state’s digital borders, with full control over access and operations performed on them.

The direct relationship between the sovereignty of the space cloud and national security is reflected in the following core points:

1. Protection of sensitive and strategic data

• Government Data: Governments rely on cloud systems to store highly sensitive information, including defense plans, intelligence documents, and data on critical infrastructure such as airports, ports, and energy networks.
• Citizens’ Personal Data: This includes population records, health data, and financial records. Any data leakage may threaten individual security or be exploited for fraud, espionage, or recruitment by foreign intelligence services.
• Economic and Financial Data: This includes private and national corporate information, trade secrets, and technological innovations. Unauthorized access to this data poses a direct threat to economic and commercial security, and therefore to national security.

2. Avoiding exposure to foreign jurisdiction

When data is stored on cloud infrastructure managed by a foreign company, it may become subject to that company’s national legislation. For example, the U.S. CLOUD Act allows the U.S. government to request access to data stored on servers owned by American companies—even if the servers are located outside U.S. territory. This constitutes a direct violation of national sovereignty and exposes state security to significant risks.

3. Ensuring continuity of critical services (resilience)

Vital sectors—such as health, education, finance, transportation, energy, defense, and security—rely on cloud infrastructures. Any loss of control or exposure to political or economic pressure from foreign states (such as sanctions) may cause severe disruptions that affect national stability.

4. Countering cyberattacks and cyber threats

Owning a national (ground or space-based) cloud infrastructure—or relying on trusted domestic providers—facilitates secure design according to advanced national standards. It also enhances the monitoring of internal and external threats and enables rapid incident response without the complexities of coordinating with foreign entities whose security priorities may not align with those of the state.

5. Strategic independence and decision-making

Cloud sovereignty empowers the state to establish its own policies on privacy protection and cross-border data flows within a framework of data sovereignty. It enables sovereign, interest-driven decision-making independent of foreign companies or governments.

How Does Space Cloud Sovereignty Enable the UAE to Achieve AI Superiority?

The integration of space cloud sovereignty and terrestrial cloud sovereignty forms a comprehensive strategic framework that enables the UAE to build an independent, secure, and flexible AI ecosystem, granting it qualitative superiority in the global race for artificial intelligence. This unified sovereign ecosystem provides several strategic advantages:

• Strategic control and informational independence

Space and terrestrial cloud sovereignty allow nations to develop and train AI models without relying on foreign infrastructure, protecting national security and economic interests. This aligns with the strategies of advanced countries such as China, Russia, South Korea, and some European states that seek to build independent, controllable national technological ecosystems.

• A unique and vital source of data

Space cloud data offers an unprecedented wealth of information about Earth. When combined with AI, this data becomes actionable intelligence, enabling systems to shift from reactive behavior to predictive and proactive planning—e.g., forecasting shipping congestion or assessing crop health before crises arise.

• Economic and competitive advantage

Transforming space data into tradable commodities creates new engines of economic growth. States and companies capable of analyzing such data through sovereign cloud infrastructures gain competitive advantages in areas such as agriculture, energy, insurance, and logistics.

• Strengthening security and national resilience

Isolated air-gapped infrastructures enable states to operate critical AI systems even during internet outages or geopolitical crises, ensuring the continuity of essential systems that support national security.

• Support for defense and industrial sectors

Sensitive sectors—including defense, energy, and finance—are increasingly relying on sovereign cloud infrastructures to protect operational data and preserve national strategic decision-making.

• Independence in developing future AI models

When the data used to train artificial intelligence is stored and processed within a sovereign cloud environment, it ensures the protection of sensitive data from external access. It also enables the customization of AI models in alignment with national security priorities while reducing dependence on foreign technologies that may be subject to export restrictions, surveillance, or espionage.

• Optimization of space-generated data usage

The data collected by satellites—such as imagery, signals, and various types of sensor data—is vast, critical, and real-time. Sovereign cloud capabilities allow this data to be analyzed locally using artificial intelligence, accelerating strategic decision-making in fields such as defense, agriculture, emergency response, and urban planning. This transforms raw data into strategic knowledge without the need to transfer it to foreign servers.

• Enhancing innovation and global competitiveness

Cloud sovereignty creates a safe and enabling environment for innovation, allowing for the development of national AI platforms built on local data. It supports the attraction of technology investments that trust a strong governance environment and enables the development of specialized AI solutions across various national sectors, such as Earth monitoring and disaster prediction.

• Strengthening international cooperation

Cloud sovereignty facilitates cooperation and communication between countries and companies in the field of artificial intelligence, enhancing the exchange of knowledge, technology, and best practices in the most efficient and effective ways.

In essence, space cloud sovereignty refers to complete national control over space-based cloud infrastructures, such as satellite constellations and orbital data centers. This emerges as part of the global competition for digital sovereignty, where data has become a sovereign resource essential for national security and future innovation.

In the age of AI, cloud computing is crucial for training large models and processing massive datasets. Exclusive reliance on terrestrial clouds may expose nations to foreign control. Space cloud sovereignty provides an optimal strategic solution, contributing to AI superiority through:

1. Unlimited sustainability and energy efficiency

• In outer space, continuous (day-night uninterrupted) solar energy provides a low-cost and renewable power source, while the cosmic vacuum acts as an “infinite radiator” for dissipating heat through infrared radiation. This reduces costs by a factor of 10 compared to ground-based data centers and results in a tenfold reduction in carbon emissions.
• For artificial intelligence, this enables the operation of complex models such as deep learning without the energy constraints found on Earth, accelerating training and lowering costs, as demonstrated by the “Starcloud” project, which aims to build an orbital data center with a 5-gigawatt capacity by the next decade.

2. Real-time processing and low latency

• Satellites collect massive amounts of data (nearly 10 GB/s of Earth imaging via radar or optical spectrum), and processing it in orbit reduces the time from hours to minutes. This enhances AI applications such as wildfire detection, weather forecasting, and monitoring agriculture and shipping, while also improving real-time early-warning capabilities for defense and security needs.

3. Enhancing digital and security sovereignty

• A space cloud ensures that data remains within sovereign boundaries, with local encryption and control, protecting against espionage and unauthorized access. This is crucial for sensitive sectors such as defense, energy, and finance.
• In the European Union, the ASCEND study plans to launch 13 space-storage modules by 2036 (with a 10-megawatt capacity), reaching 1 gigawatt by 2050, to support European AI without relying on the United States or China, with a focus on zero emissions.

4. Reshaping global trade and competition

• Integrating space-cloud sovereignty with AI transforms data into economically valuable “trade assets,” enabling sovereign states to predict disruptions (such as shipping congestion or drought) and optimize supply chains. This provides a competitive edge, similar to how satellites are used to analyze environmental data for agriculture and logistics.

Cloud sovereignty generally refers to a state’s or institution’s ability to exercise full control over its data and applications that are operated and stored on cloud computing systems, ensuring compliance with national laws and regulations, protecting sensitive data, and maintaining digital independence. When this concept is integrated with superiority in artificial intelligence, cloud sovereignty becomes a strategic objective aimed at achieving the following:

• Control over the place of operation: Ensuring that AI workloads—especially sensitive ones—run in cloud zones located within national jurisdiction (either on Earth or in a dedicated orbital infrastructure).
• Technological autonomy: Building and developing local and independent cloud infrastructures optimized specifically for AI workloads (such as high-performance data centers and AI accelerators), reducing reliance on foreign service providers.
• Data sovereignty: Ensuring that data used for training and operating AI models is subject to the state’s data protection laws, including data residency requirements and algorithmic transparency.
• Cybersecurity assurance: Securing data and models from cyber threats and unauthorized access by foreign actors is critical for the government and defense sectors.
• Enabling local research and development: Providing powerful, controlled cloud environments that give national scientists and startups access to massive computing power to train advanced AI models and develop sophisticated applications that support various practical fields.
• Flexibility and governance: Integrating AI into sovereign cloud solutions to deliver proactive, dynamic compliance that keeps pace with the rapid evolution of AI technologies and changing regulatory requirements.

In summary, space-cloud sovereignty for AI ensures that superiority in artificial intelligence depends not only on the ability to develop advanced models but also on owning secure, independent infrastructure capable of running these models and managing their data according to national interests.

How the UAE Can Use the Sovereignty of the Space Cloud to Enhance Its National Security

The UAE can use a national space cloud—subject to national laws and under full state control—to strengthen its national security in several strategic ways, especially amid the growing overlap between the digital domain and outer space. While the term “space cloud” is not yet a standardized technical term, states may integrate sovereign cloud systems with space infrastructure (such as satellites) to enhance digital and security sovereignty. The following are key ways to enhance national security:

1. Protecting sensitive data from foreign espionage

A sovereign cloud ensures that national data—including data from space-based surveillance systems or satellite communications—remains subject to state laws and is not processed or stored outside national borders. This protects against foreign espionage and unauthorized access by external actors.

2. Compliance with national laws and strengthened cybersecurity

By using a sovereign cloud, the state ensures that all processes involving data (including AI-derived data from space sources) comply with domestic national-security regulations and are subject to strong encryption and strict access controls.

3. Technological and strategic independence

Relying on a sovereign cloud reduces dependence on foreign cloud providers (such as major technology companies abroad), giving the state strategic independence in defense, critical infrastructure, and satellite communications while reducing financial costs.

4. Local management of vital digital assets

Governments can partner with local or international cloud providers to build an “internal cloud” under full national control, used to store and process sensitive digital assets such as satellite data, early-warning systems, or defense communications and space-intelligence networks.

5. Supporting sovereign artificial intelligence

By processing space data (such as satellite imagery) within a sovereign cloud, states can train and operate AI models under their full oversight, enhancing intelligence and military capabilities without leaking data beyond national borders.

Conclusion

Although the term “space cloud” is still emerging and not widely used in modern technical literature, many advanced countries have already begun integrating satellite data—whether civilian or military—into sovereign cloud systems designed to ensure that data is not processed or stored outside their national jurisdiction. This direction is part of a broader strategy known as “digital sovereignty” or “sovereign artificial intelligence,” which aims to enable states to fully control their data and digital infrastructure while protecting their AI models from foreign influence or technical interference.

In this context, space-cloud sovereignty is not understood as a literal cloud physically “in space,” but rather as a core component of a more comprehensive system that integrates space-derived data—such as satellite imagery, remote sensing signals, and ground station telemetry—into a secure, fully state-controlled national digital infrastructure. This integration between space and terrestrial cloud systems forms a unified sovereign framework that enhances national security through three main pillars:

• Exercising sovereign control over data
• Full control over digital infrastructure
• Launching an independent national innovation ecosystem capable of developing AI without reliance on foreign systems or transnational commercial entities

Given the UAE’s ambitious strategic vision and its advanced digital and AI infrastructure, it is ideally positioned to lead this transformation. However, success in integrating the space cloud with the terrestrial cloud requires addressing several core challenges that must be met systematically and swiftly:

• Developing unified technical standards

Establishing a comprehensive national framework that ensures the integration of terrestrial and space-based digital infrastructures, achieving interoperability between state systems, data centers, and satellites in a technically and operationally coherent manner.

• Strengthening integrated cybersecurity architecture

Establishing unified protection layers covering both digital and space domains and developing advanced cyber capabilities capable of detecting, resisting, and containing threats across a multilayered environment that includes satellites, ground control stations, and data centers.

• Building multidisciplinary national expertise

Investing in national human capital to develop expertise that combines space sciences, cloud engineering, cybersecurity, AI, and technology policy, ensuring knowledge transfer and reducing dependence on external specialists.

• Accelerating digital and space-related legislation

Completing the legal framework governing the flow of data between space and Earth, ensuring privacy protection, supporting innovation, and enhancing the UAE’s position as a trusted global partner in managing space and sovereign data.

Once these challenges are successfully addressed, integrating the space cloud with the terrestrial cloud will represent not just a technical step but a comprehensive strategic transformation that establishes a pioneering Emirati model of “digital space sovereignty.” With a clear political vision and strong leadership, the UAE will be able to build a sovereign AI ecosystem that becomes a global benchmark and grants it exceptional competitive and strategic advantages in a world driven by AI, data, and algorithms.