UAE Offers Open Platform for Global Cooperation in Energy and AI

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Opening Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026, His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of the Masdar Board of Directors, outlined a new era of human progress where computational power and digital capabilities are the defining factors.

Speaking in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, as well as heads of state, ministers, and senior officials, Dr. Al Jaber emphasized that artificial intelligence is already transforming every sector, setting new expectations for global growth and placing unprecedented demands on energy systems.

“Every algorithm, every data center, every technological advancement requires energy. Simply put, there is no AI without real energy,” Dr. Al Jaber said.

He noted that over the next 15 years, data center capacity will increase sixfold, air travel will double, and urban populations will grow by 1.5 billion people, leading to a sharp rise in demand for cooling, heating, mobility, and industrial production. Yet more than 70 percent of this energy will continue to come from hydrocarbons.

Dr. Al Jaber stressed that the UAE’s economy is adapted to these new realities: the country’s growth is built on pragmatism, visionary leadership, ambitious plans, and long-term strategy.

“The world still needs molecules to produce electrons,” he explained, noting that the UAE invests simultaneously in hydrocarbons and renewable energy, integrating both into a single system. Artificial intelligence has become the operating system of the industrial strategy, optimizing every barrel, every megawatt, and every production line.

Marking Masdar’s 20th anniversary, Dr. Al Jaber reported that the company has achieved a global renewable energy capacity of 65 GW, representing two-thirds of its 100 GW target by 2030.

Over two decades, Masdar has implemented projects in more than 40 countries, reducing the cost of renewable energy by over 90 percent, a result of visionary leadership and a consistent strategic approach.

Dr. Al Jaber highlighted partnerships and international collaboration as key. “The UAE offers an open platform for radical cooperation. Here, gigawatts meet terabytes of data, energy meets intelligence, and progress is realized, not promised,” he said.

The country provides stability, scale, access to advanced energy and digital infrastructure, world-class logistics and financial services, underpinned by the rule of law and transparent governance.

Dr. Al Jaber also recalled the legacy of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, emphasizing that true progress is measured by its impact on people’s lives. The Zayed Sustainability Prize, awarded during ADSW, has positively affected the lives of more than 400 million people across six continents. “This prize is not symbolic — it is practical and deeply humane. It saves lives and improves them,” he said.

Concluding his address, he urged attendees to channel their ambitions, ideas, capital, and technology where opportunities are tangible, partnerships enduring, and progress practical. “The future of sustainable human progress awaits, and its address is Abu Dhabi,” Dr. Al Jaber concluded.