UAE creates Federal Authority to lead AI, data & digital government
Sheikh Mohammed launches unified AI and data authority for UAE
#UAE #AIGovernance – His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has announced the creation of the UAE Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority. The new federal body reports directly to the UAE Cabinet and is chaired by Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama. The authority consolidates three existing entities: the Office of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications; the Digital Government Sector at the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority; and the Emirates Data Office. Its mandate spans national AI strategy, digital government services, government data integration and driving AI’s direct contribution to UAE GDP.
SO WHAT? – This is a structural move, designed to place AI at the centre of UAE federal governance. The formation of the new Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority is the latest in a sequence of strategic institutional changes recognising AI’s increasingly central role in the UAE government. In April 2026, the UAE renamed its Ministerial Development Council as the Ministerial Council for Artificial Intelligence and Development, giving AI transformation direct executive authority at the highest tier of government. By consolidating of three separate bodies into a single authority with a Cabinet-level mandate, the UAE is removing the institutional fragmentation that professional research consistently identifies as the primary barrier to effective government AI deployment.
KEY POINTS:
The Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority has been established as a new UAE federal body, reporting directly to the Cabinet and chaired by Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama. The new body consolidates the functions of three previously separate government entities under a single national mandate.
The authority’s mandate covers six key responsibilities: leading the country’s data, AI and digital government agenda; unifying national directions to build a cohesive agentic AI-powered digital government ecosystem; proposing national policies, legislation and strategies; leading the AI strategy and driving its contribution to GDP; designing and delivering proactive, integrated digital government services; and managing and integrating government data platforms across federal entities.
The new authority sits within an ongoing restructuring of UAE federal governance around AI. In April 2026, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the renaming of the Ministerial Development Council as the Ministerial Council for Artificial Intelligence and Development, chaired by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The council brings together key stakeholders to oversee federal performance, reviews policies and legislation across all federal entities, giving the UAE's AI transformation direct executive authority at ministerial level.
The consolidation announced today addresses a structural challenge that has constrained government AI programmes globally. Research published by global business school INSEAD and international technology group Yango identifies fragmented data environments and weak cross-entity coordination as two of the five most persistent barriers to effective government AI deployment, both of which the new authority is designed to resolve.
The authority will unify national AI direction across federal bodies, providing coherence between the federal government’s agentic AI programme. The move builds on a 25-year digital government foundation and follows the UAE’s designation in 2017 as the first country in the world to appoint a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. The new authority represents the latest structural evolution in what the UAE describes as its Government 4.0 strategy.
Data integration sits at the heart of the new authority’s operational role. Managing and integrating government data platforms, ensuring quality, availability and cross-entity sharing under advanced governance frameworks.
The announcement follows a series of rapid agentic AI deployment decisions across the UAE federal government, including a Cabinet-approved framework to transform 50% of government sectors, services and operations to agentic AI within two years, and a workshop engaging more than 300 officials from 50 federal entities as a kick-off for a structured 90-day implementation sprint.
Sheikh Mohammed framed the authority’s creation in terms of citizen outcomes, writing that the goal is “a government that is more efficient, flexible and proactive, harnessing technology to serve humanity and build a better future for generations to come” — positioning the structural change explicitly around service delivery rather than institutional reorganisation.
ZOOM OUT – The formation of the new Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority comes at a critical moment in the UAE’s AI implementation timeline. Just a few days ago, the UAE Cabinet launched a 90-day agentic AI sprint, requiring every federal entity to select, design and begin implementing its own agentic AI service within three months. With ten priority operational areas identified spanning human resources, procurement, financial affairs, legislative affairs, internal audit and facilities management, among others, progress is being monitored on a regular basis. Ministers, directors general and department heads are being held directly accountable for delivery on the project. So, the logic behind the creating of a single coordinating authority with Cabinet-level authority is very clear. This provides a structure to scale governance across the entire federal government as it accelerates AI adoption beyond the speed of all competitors.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Source: UAE Government post on X.com
Read more about UAE federal government’s AI initiatives:
UAE 90-day agentic AI sprint across 50 federal entities (Middle East AI News)
The UAE has cracked the code on government AI (Middle East AI News)
UAE launches first AI agents for government services (Middle East AI News)
UAE Cabinet approves first AI government service bundles (Middle East AI News)
PM reviews UAE government’s Agentic AI project progress (Middle East AI News)