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Advanced Tech Adoption & Innovation Are UAE’s Top Priority
The United Arab Emirates is actively seeking to overcome technological challenges and will explore futuristic approaches to improve the digital economy.
Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, has explained that the adoption of advanced technologies is a top priority for the region, as the Emirates continues to push forward with its vision of an advanced digital economy through innovation. Although there are many challenges to overcome, the UAE is making incredible progress across multiple scientific and technological sectors, and has embraced a future-centric approach to developing and overhauling its economy.
Omar Sultan Al Olama recently visited the Industrial Innovation Group (IIG), a leading security printing, biometric and global systems innovator, headquartered in Sharjah. The Minister’s mission was to explore the group’s scientific research lab, uncover new trends in advanced technology, and discuss potential collaboration opportunities.
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The Minister of State for all things digital noted that when it comes to technology, the most innovative and forward-thinking tools must be deployed to ensure safety, quality, and reliability. Omar Sultan Al Olama praised the Industrial Innovation Group for its success in building a sizable operational base, with 263 centers for passports around the globe and 367 centers for licenses. In addition, the IIG group’s 400 intellectual property assets will help the UAE to lead in security documents and technology solutions worldwide.
The Industrial Innovation Group is the first group in the MENA region to establish real industrial production and implement system integration. IIG is the only company in the field of production of identification documents and security printing worldwide that does not depend on third-party technologies in its activities.
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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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