His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs, has chaired the inaugural meeting of the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council at Qasr Al Watan.
At the outset of the meeting, His Highness welcomed the council members and conveyed his hopes for their success in fulfilling the council's mission and objectives in line with the vision and directives of the leadership to accelerate technological transformation within the industrial and productive sectors, enhance national competitiveness, achieve global stewardship in future technologies, and foster a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy, reflecting the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology.
The meeting focused on the council’s priorities and future plans to advance the smart autonomous systems sector in the emirate. The council discussed creating an integrated strategy to establish the necessary infrastructure for developing and using smart systems. The council also discussed the need to review the legislative framework to enhance policies and regulations that will facilitate expanding the use of smart autonomous systems across land, sea and air, in line with the emirate’s aspirations in further enhancing the research and development ecosystem across all high-priority sectors.
The meeting also reviewed the updates and programmes of the Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industries (SAVI) cluster, primarily the initiatives designed to strengthen the emirate’s position in transportation technologies through smart and autonomous vehicles, including their applications in air, land and sea.
The cluster aims to support innovative smart transportation methods with advanced facilities and services. It is projected to contribute between AED90 billion and AED120 billion to GDP by designing, manufacturing and testing various types of smart and autonomous transportation vehicles, as well as providing logistical services to leading companies in smart mobility solutions.
The meeting was attended by His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; His Excellency Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Department of Municipalities and Transport; His Excellency Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development; His Excellency Staff Major General Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police; His Excellency Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Advisor to President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology; His Excellency Sultan Al Mutawa Al Dhaheri; and His Excellency Badr Saleem Sultan Al-Olama, Acting Director General of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.
