Overview
- Dubai’s crown prince directed Dubai Customs to become the world leader in services and trade facilitation after reviewing its 2026–2030 strategy and AI 2030 roadmap.
- Dubai Customs’ Al‑Munaseq 2.0 platform, using AI and big‑data analysis, cuts goods classification from a day to two seconds, has 86% adoption and downloads in 117 countries.
- The UAE and European Union formally launched negotiations on a Strategic Partnership to deepen cooperation spanning trade, research and innovation, digital and AI, energy transition, and regional stability, alongside separate free‑trade talks.
- Abu Dhabi hosted the 16th UAE–India Joint Committee and Strategic Dialogue, noting CEPA progress toward a $100 billion trade target and advancing UPI–AANI payments links plus RuPay–Jaywan card interoperability and education initiatives such as IIT‑Delhi Abu Dhabi.
- Emirates NBD introduced the UAE’s first bank‑branded gold bar, sold via redeemable certificates with storage or delivery options in 10g, 50g and 100g units, while Dubai Municipality reported 100‑day outputs from its Urban Planning & Design Lab including 13 partnerships, 35 workshops, 45 concepts and 25 projects in development.