UAE Targets Advanced Technology Exports Worth $4b Annually

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announcing the national program to accelerate the pace of technological transformation on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi (WAM)
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announcing the national program to accelerate the pace of technological transformation on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi (WAM)
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UAE Targets Advanced Technology Exports Worth $4b Annually

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announcing the national program to accelerate the pace of technological transformation on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi (WAM)
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announcing the national program to accelerate the pace of technological transformation on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi (WAM)

The UAE launched on Wednesday the national program to accelerate the pace of technological transformation in priority sectors.

This comes as part of the national strategy for industry and advanced technology, which seeks to enhance the sector’s global competitiveness and sustainability, accelerate the pace of technology in the sector, enable the national capacities, and empower technology entrepreneurs and technology emerging companies in the digital transformation journey.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, said: "We have launched a national program to accelerate the pace of technological transformation in the industrial and production sectors.”

“The program aims to develop 1,000 technology projects, and includes the establishment of national centers for industrial empowerment and aims to export advanced Emirati technological products at a value of 15 billion dirhams ($4 billion) annually,” he said.

"The employment of advanced technology in industries and projects is an essential pillar for developing our national economy in partnership with the private sector. The UAE represents a global center in the fields of research, development and innovation in future technology," Sheikh Mohammed affirmed.

"Through advanced technology, we see opportunities to achieve our national priorities and ambitions for the next fifty years. The program will make it possible for technology developers, entrepreneurs and emerging technology companies to experiment with technology in the UAE and launch from it for global transformational projects with a tangible impact," he added.

The program was launched during a special event in the capital Abu Dhabi.

The program is tailored to achieve a set of goals, primarily raising industrial sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product by 110 billion dirhams ($30 billion), enabling 15 billion dirhams ($4 billion) worth of advanced technology exports annually, investing 11 billion dirhams ($2.9 billion) in advanced technology, achieving 15 billion dirhams ($4 billion) annually of industrial productivity, in addition to nurturing Emirati talent across advanced technology projects within 10 years.

This program aims to launch 1,000 technological projects in several key productive sectors at the state level until 2031, in line with the national priorities of the UAE.

Some of these priorities are: building a flexible and competitive national economy based on knowledge and innovation, achieving sustainable development goals and climate neutrality, attaining self-sufficiency, raising productivity level in the national economy, enhancing the quality of life, and reinforcing the UAE’s status as a global hub for sciences and technology.

The program will be set in motion through the launch of five initiatives.



Trump Launches His Own Meme Coin, Value Soars

US President-elect Donald Trump views fireworks at Trump National Golf Club Washington DC in Sterling, Virginia, US, January 18, 2025. (Reuters)
US President-elect Donald Trump views fireworks at Trump National Golf Club Washington DC in Sterling, Virginia, US, January 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Launches His Own Meme Coin, Value Soars

US President-elect Donald Trump views fireworks at Trump National Golf Club Washington DC in Sterling, Virginia, US, January 18, 2025. (Reuters)
US President-elect Donald Trump views fireworks at Trump National Golf Club Washington DC in Sterling, Virginia, US, January 18, 2025. (Reuters)

US President-elect Donald Trump has launched his own cryptocurrency, appropriately called $TRUMP, sparking feverish buying that sent its market capitalization soaring on Saturday to several billion dollars.

In a message posted on his Truth Social platform and X, Trump unveiled the so-called meme coin, which is designed to capitalize on the popularity of a certain personality, movement or viral internet trend.

Meme coins have no economic or transactional value, and are often seen as a means of speculative trading.

"This Trump Meme celebrates a leader who doesn't back down, no matter the odds," says the coin's official site, which makes reference to the assassination attempt against the Republican in July 2024.

In the hours following the overnight launch, the crypto community posed questions about the legitimacy of the $TRUMP coin, and its actual link to the president-elect, with some fearing a scam.

But the fact that the announcements came on Trump's official social media channels seemed to reassure the market, as did the fact that Trump has used one of the companies behind the project, CIC Digital LLC, in the past to sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

By mid-morning on Saturday, the market capitalization for $TRUMP stood at nearly $6 billion.

Neither Trump nor the company managing the launch, Fight Fight Fight LLC, offered details about how much he made from the initial batch of meme coins released.

The coin's official site said 200 million meme coins were issued, with Fight Fight Fight saying an additional 800 million would be added over the next three years.

At the current rate, the coins not yet on the market would be worth about $24 billion.

Initially opposed to cryptocurrency, Trump made a sharp about-face during his 2024 presidential campaign, becoming a champion of the concept and promising to develop the sector, notably by loosening regulations.

Before this new announcement, businessmen linked to Trump had in October put online a crypto platform called World Liberty Financial.