On November 1 in Dubai, Google announced the launch of the AI Opportunity initiative for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This is Google’s largest AI initiative for this region.

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications in the United Arab Emirates, spoke at an event held in Dubai to celebrate Google’s decision.

He announced that Google is ready to allocate 15 million dollars over the next three years to make AI infrastructure available to everyone in MENA.

Google’s MENA AI Opportunity initiative will include AI training, research, infrastructure expansion and new product launches in the regional market. There will be a strong focus on training in Arabic.

The potential impact of AI technologies on the economic growth of the MENA region is estimated to be around $320 billion by 2030s. Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google, said this as part of her speech in Dubai.

The event, where Google’s decision to expand its artificial intelligence program to the Middle East was announced, was attended by both government officials and hundreds of businessmen, developers and entrepreneurs.

According to Yaroslav Bogdanov, president of GDA Group, which opened its representative office in Dubai in the spring of 2024, Google’s initiative is part of a strategy to integrate the region and the UAE in particular into the technological world.

“Note that this week the United Arab Emirates also became the first Arab state to join the board of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This is a commensurate response to the efforts made by the UAE authorities in finding ways to further enhance the growth of economic and technological development. The IEC membership and the Google initiative show that foreign partners have growing confidence in the UAE as a state capable of providing a high technological level,” said Yaroslav Bogdanov.