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Abu Dhabi Sets 2027 Target For AI-Run Government
Officials attended the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council meeting, where AI trends and investment opportunities were also discussed.
Abu Dhabi has set a deadline of 2027 to run the world’s first government fully enabled by artificial intelligence. The plan was reviewed this week at a meeting chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed in attendance.
The Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council assessed the Government Digital Strategy 2025-2027, which places AI at the center of public services. The push combines new technologies, expanded research, and training for civil servants. Public awareness campaigns are also being rolled out. “Equipping the workforce and the broader community to participate in Abu Dhabi’s digital transformation is essential,” Sheikh Tahnoon said.
State entities including ADQ, Adnoc, the Department of Government Enablement and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence briefed the council on projects already under way. The oil and gas major Adnoc is pursuing its own AI targets, aiming to be the most AI-enabled energy company by 2030. Abu Dhabi is committing Dh13 billion ($3.53 billion) between now and 2027 to accelerate adoption across government departments.
The review comes as the federal government advances its own program. From 2026, the UAE’s National Artificial Intelligence System will sit in Cabinet meetings as an advisory member. It is designed to provide technical analysis and policy input. In August, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid launched a new federal strategy cycle that places AI at the heart of planning and service delivery.
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The UAE is also opening channels with global players. Last week, President Sheikh Mohamed met OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman in Abu Dhabi. Altman, who received MBZUAI’s first honorary doctorate during the visit, discussed research partnerships and practical applications with local institutions.
Formed last year, the council is tasked with shaping Abu Dhabi’s AI policy, investment and research agenda. Its work is anchoring the emirate’s attempt to establish itself as a global hub for advanced technology, a position reinforced by direct engagement with international firms and talent pipelines.
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Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
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