DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have vowed to use thedigital economy to protect their peoples and economies from possible futurepandemics.

These views were expressed by Emirati and Israeli experts at the”UAE-Israel Future Digital Economy Summit”. The summit was held in Dubai onthe sidelines of the annual Information Technology Exhibition “GITEX 2020”.The summit was the first formal gathering between the two countries afterthe Abrahamic peace agreement between the UAE and Israel. Senior governmentofficials and Information technology (IT) experts from both countriesattended the conference. Health experts and information technology expertsfrom both countries stated that the coronavirus pandemic had shaken theeconomies across the globe but said the “crisis” challenges always created”opportunities”.

The UAE Minister for Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Omar binSultan Al Olama said that the current year had been full of challengeswhich provided an opportunity to further accelerate the digital economy tomeet the challenges. Speaking at the summit, he said that fortunately theUAE already had the technology infrastructure for the digital economy. “Inthe UAE, our leadership believes that in every challenge there is anopportunity to thrive”, he mentioned the UAE visionary leadership.

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama said that the growth rate of the UAE’s digitaleconomy had accelerated since the pandemic. The CEO of Israel’s Ministry ofEconomy and Industry David Leffler stated that Israel earned more than$2billion in the health IT sector.