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UAE government joins Agile Nations Network

Dubai - This will help develop innovative models preparing for future challenges.

Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, UAE's Minister of Cabinet Affairs, affirmed that building the next generation of future governments requires strengthening international partnerships and collaboration between governments.

This will help develop innovative models preparing for future challenges, and adapting with emerging requirements, aiming to achieve the highest levels of government resilience which reflects positively on societies.

These remarks coincided with the signing of UAE Government 'Agile Nations Charter', along with six countries to join the Agile Nations Network established by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In a world first, the Network aims to foster government innovation, affirm participating countries’ commitment to creating a regulatory environment, and support the adoption of innovation to prepare for future challenges.

The Charter was signed during "Agile Governance for the Post-Pandemic World" panel organised by WEF and OECD, which hosted 15 government officials and private sector specialists to discuss means to redesign rulemaking through adopting innovative government models to power economic growth, social development, and promote entrepreneurship.

Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and The Future, signed the agreement, together with; Paola Pisano, Minister of Technological Innovation and Digitisation – Italy; Hon. Low Yen Ling, Minister of State for Trade and Industry – Singapore; Amanda Solloway, Minister for Science – UK; Kouichi Munekiyo, Parliamentary Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry – Japan; Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, President of the Treasury Board - Canada, and Katrine Winding, Director General of the Danish Business Authority.

During the virtual panel, WEF published its "Guide to Better Regulation of Emerging Technologies", which was developed in partnership with the Global Future Council on Agile Governance. OECD also launched a comprehensive global action for its 37 member states to develop principles on effective and innovation-friendly rulemaking in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to be adopted in 2021.

Apolitical also announced the winners of the first Agile 50 awards, sponsored by WEF’s Global Future Council on Agile Governance, recognizing world’s top public leaders on technology governance and government agility.

"Innovation and Agility Are Key in Designing the Future In her remarks, Ohood Al Roumi stated that good governance, innovation and agile regulations are key pillars in developing advanced models, which will help designing future of governments, highlighting UAE’s leadership pioneering approach to promote global inter-governmental and inter-organisational partnerships to build a better future", Ohood Al Roumi said.

"UAE government is proud to endorse the Agile Nations network, which would help adopt agile governance and innovation to build strong, capable, and resilient governments, and enable them to tackle future challenges with proactive solutions", she added.

"Too often, rules and laws are designed with the past in mind," said Murat Sonmez, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. "Our Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution help governments, businesses and citizens co-design for the future – enabling the innovation that will be needed to create jobs, maintain competitiveness and ensure resilience to shocks."

"To help governments navigate the challenges and develop more agile approaches to the regulatory governance of innovation, the OECD is developing principles on effective and innovation-friendly rulemaking in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Agile Nations network is an extremely timely initiative to truly foster international regulatory cooperation for better, innovation-friendly and up-to-date regulations worldwide", Jeffrey Schlagenhauf, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD said.

"Sperimentazione Italia (Italy Experimentation) allows companies, universities, research institutions to experiment with frontier innovations, so that disruptive innovations opportunities are not missed. The time is ready to extend and apply the testing of ‘agile regulation’ within the international cooperation," said Paola Pisano.

"Regulatory agility, strong business-government partnerships, and constructive international regulatory co-operation are key in enabling innovation and helping businesses to emerge stronger from the pandemic", said Hon. Low Yen Ling. "Singapore looks forward to working closely with the Agile Nations network to strengthen collaboration in agile regulation to enable businesses and emerging innovations to rapidly offer new solutions."

"The UK has a proud history of entrepreneurship and discovery but it is only by working together internationally that we can truly unleash the incredible potential of new technology," said Lord Callanan, Business Minister, United Kingdom. "The Agile Nations will boost collaboration to remove regulatory barriers, ensuring innovators and entrepreneurs can market and scale their innovations across all seven nations involved."

"Canada’s endorsement of the Agile Nations’ agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating a regulatory environment where innovation can flourish, and our respective businesses can be more efficient and competitive globally," said Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos.

"We fully support this Agile Nations network as an initiative to promote international cooperation regarding the concept of ‘Governance Innovation’. We are happy to share our experiences and knowledge about innovative governance, including projects of the Digital Architecture Design Centre established this year", said Kouichi Munekiyo.

"Siemens has always supported cross-border collaboration," said Torsten Ende, Head of Government Affairs, Siemens. "Cross-border collaboration of regulators is the best way to avoid unnecessary divergence that could hamper innovation and to ensure future-oriented cooperation and technology with purpose."

Christopher Padilla, Vice President for Government and Regulatory Affairs at IBM Corporation, said: "Even as new breakthroughs in technology are creating immense opportunities and improving economic and social well-being, these innovations are challenging traditional models of regulation. The Agile Nations Charter is an important step in fostering the international cooperation necessary to delivering on the promises of the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

"The creation of the Agile Nations network is a welcome development for technology innovators," said Diana Paredes, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Suade Labs. "Regulation that is designed for the past and a lack of coordination between regulators is particularly burdensome for innovative start-ups and SMEs."

By launching the Agile Nations Charter, WEF and OECD pave the way for governments to share their strategic plans and future visions to promote innovation and discuss the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to enhance the way governments function, manage operations and deliver services.

The Agile Nations Charter aims to guide governments in identifying future opportunities and developing integrated and applicable regulations. It supports effective management of innovations to accelerate economic growth, and design solutions to social and environmental challenges, in priority areas including; green technology, data and communication, financial services, rulemaking and legislations, medical diagnosis and treatment, as well as mobility solutions.

A group of leading global technology companies, including IBM and Facebook, are participating in implementing the charter to support emerging technology companies and innovative projects to participate in the rulemaking process and test new ideas.

During the virtual panel, participants discussed the importance of enhancing agility by employing the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies in rulemaking, enhancing global commitment to supporting UN SDGs and providing integrated services to their societies.

Experts from Facebook, IBM, Siemens, Sherlock Biosciences, Suade Labs and Volvo welcomed the charter for its revolutionary approach to regulation. They further stressed the need to adopt agile governance, foster responsible innovation and entrepreneurship through enhancing countries’ commitment to creating a regulatory environment, enabling new businesses and entrepreneurs to develop scalable innovations.