Delivered by: Sarah AlAwadhi, Second Secretary

Distinguished Co-facilitators,

The United Arab Emirates aligns itself with the statements delivered by Uganda on behalf of the G77 and China, and Singapore on behalf of the Small States Group and would like to add additional national remarks.

We thank the co-facilitators for their efforts to propose a structure of the Global Digital Compact based on the input shared by member states and relevant stakeholders. The UAE sees this structure as a strong starting point for the GDC.

In the section on “fostering an inclusive, open, safe, secure digital space”, we thank the co-facilitators for outlining the advancement of “digital trust and safety, including specific measures to protect women, children, and youth” and would like to reiterate our support in that regard, and highlight the importance of this goal in creating an inclusive, open, safe, digital future for all. Additionally, we reemphasize the need to provide access and inclusivity for people with disabilities. We would also like to emphasize the need to acknowledge the importance of multi-stakeholder cooperation, including cooperation with the private sector and academia, in promoting innovation and creativity to build an open, safe and secure digital space.

The UAE appreciates the inclusion of the section “Governing emerging technologies, including AI, for humanity” by the co-facilitators, and supports efforts to govern AI applications while promoting innovation in the development of AI and open-source AI. We also find it pertinent to consider the development of AI capabilities to prevent and counter hate speech, disinformation, discrimination, and abuse, including of women and girls.  In the same vein, we would also like to draw attention to the importance of highlighting emerging technologies such as 6G that affect accessibility and inclusivity of AI and its governance for the important role it plays in achieving the SDGs, connecting the unconnected regions, ensuring the development of ubiquitous intelligence as well as the development of its security, privacy and resilience aspect.

In the follow up and review section, we stress the importance of promoting responsible behavior and accountability in addition to the principles of inclusivity and transparency.

In conclusion, we thank the co-facilitators for holding consultations to further discussions on the DGC and we look forward to receiving and discussing the zero draft.

Thank you.