UAE Launches Fourth Industrial Revolution Protocol

 A side of the Global Future Councils sessions that concluded on Sunday in Dubai. Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic.
A side of the Global Future Councils sessions that concluded on Sunday in Dubai. Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic.
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UAE Launches Fourth Industrial Revolution Protocol

 A side of the Global Future Councils sessions that concluded on Sunday in Dubai. Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic.
A side of the Global Future Councils sessions that concluded on Sunday in Dubai. Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic.

In partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Emirate government launched Sunday the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Protocol.

During the second Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils (AMGFC) in Dubai, the 4IR protocol was launched and it is an initiative that sets a regulatory framework for the tools and technologies already driving the next wave of human progress.

It encompasses three primary pillars: providing an integrated and secure data environment; formulating policies and legislation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and building a unified system of values and ethics to guide 4IR technologies.

Mohammad Abdullah al-Gergawi, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future and Co-chair of the Global Future Councils, said that the Fourth Industrial Revolution Protocol not only consolidates the UAE government’s efforts to adopt 4IR tools and technologies, but demonstrates its commitment to addressing the moral and ethical concerns surrounding them.

Gergawi added: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution’s unprecedented technological capabilities require us to change the mechanisms that govern the work of vital sectors.”

The launching of the Fourth Industrial Revolution represents an initiative from the UAE, that presents perceptions for the vital sectors’ future and puts a framework for the regulating legislatives and policies in a way that contributes in empowering governments to provide better services for the community.

The Protocol will establish a massive integrated data environment to simulate the Fourth Industrial Revolution, permitting experts to meet its challenges via extensive data sharing and artificial intelligence.

It will also work to ensure privacy for the community, contribute to human happiness by instilling values and ethics into technological advances and address the inherent challenges new technologies bring to identify and combat possible negative effects on humankind.



Egypt Completes Trial Run of New Suez Canal Channel Extension

An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)
An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Egypt Completes Trial Run of New Suez Canal Channel Extension

An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)
An Egyptian navy vessel see in the Suez Canal, March 30, 2021. (AFP/Getty Images)

Egypt said on Saturday it had successfully tested a new 10 km channel near the southern end of the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement that during a trial run two ships passed through a new stretch of the canal's two-way section without incident.

Following the 2021 grounding of the container ship Ever Given that blocked the vital waterway for six days, Egypt accelerated plans to extend the second channel in the southern reaches of the canal and widen the existing channel.

Its revenue from the waterway, the gateway to the shortest route between Europe and Asia, has nevertheless tumbled since Yemen's Houthi militias began attacking ships in the Red Sea in November 2023 in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday that due to "regional challenges", the country had lost approximately $7 billion in Suez Canal revenue in 2024, marking more than a 60% drop from 2023.

According to the Suez Canal Authority, the latest expansion extends the total length of the canal's two-way section to 82 km from a previous 72 km. The canal is 193 km long in total.

"This expansion will boost the canal's capacity by an additional 6 to 8 ships daily and enhance its ability to handle potential emergencies," the Suez Canal Authority said in its statement.

Earlier this year, Egypt said that it was considering an additional expansion project separate to the 10 km channel extension.