Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE’s economic minister, declared this project at the maiden Metaverse Assembly in Dubai, which was held at the Museum of the Future of the City. The UAE is in the process of opening a ministry inside the metaverse, the immersive virtual world. You should know the difference between De-Fi and Bitcoin banking.
UAE, which already boasted the tallest skyscraper in the world and launched a bold Mars mission, is now hoping to become one pioneer in the metaverse depths. The project launched at the Museum of the Future of Dubai declared that the UAE’s economy ministry was putting up shop inside the virtual world. It is taking shape now. Those who use virtual reality goggles or other means for venturing inside will find one ministry open for business with firms. It will be ready to sign some bilateral agreements with foreign governments.
UAE Economy Ministry to set up shop in Metaverse
The metaverse is an online world. Users will eventually be able to game, work, and study there. Its proponents mention this, but it is in a test phase now.
An overview
At the first Dubai Metaverse Assembly, held at the museum with an innovative ring shape decorated with Arabic calligraphy flanking the city’s main street, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri gave a speech.
Entrepreneurs and developers are exploring the potential of the metaverse, a network of digital spaces meant to be an extension of the physical world populated by representatives of tech giants.
Al-Marri told AFP in an interview that there were investments in the last couple of years, they have seen companies move in, and with the changes in the (visa) regime… they see the talent coming in.
The United Arab Emirates, which has a track record of big projects like the Burj Khalifa, which is 830 meters (2,723 feet) tall, hopes that the metaverse will add 40,000 jobs and $4 billion to its GDP annually by 2030.
To become one of the top-10 metaverse economies worldwide, Dubai wants to allure 1,000 companies specializing in blockchain and other technologies, helped by eased visa rules for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and creatives.
Al-Marri added, “Covid accelerated” the trend as the coronavirus pandemic drove more people online.
He stated,
“We thought the metaverse is a phased technology” that could emerge in 10 to 20 years. We have immersed in the metaverse quickly thanks to Covid-19.”
Virtual Mars trips
In contrast to Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the United Arab Emirates, where crude accounts for 5% of the economy, Dubai has turned its attention to business, tourism, real estate, and emerging technologies.
The United Arab Emirates has welcomed significant cryptocurrency exchange platforms while establishing a regulatory body for cryptocurrencies and a law governing virtual assets.
2117 is one of the UAE’s earliest private-sector metaverse projects. It is inspired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s aspiration to colonize Mars one day.
Tickets for a virtual shuttle transporting colonists to the red planet are now available to Metaverse users.
“In the metaverse, we’ll try to replicate this experience,”
Few people have used the metaverse until now, and even those who designed it predict widespread adoption will take years. It is not clear how it will be developed.
Analysis Group research showed that the metaverse could add $360 billion to GDP in North Africa, Turkey, and the Middle East in ten years if it follows the growth pattern of mobile technology, according to Meta, which owns Facebook and other social media giants.
When asked about Dubai’s potential as a metaverse hub, the company stated that when policy supports innovation, it will accelerate the adoption of new technologies.
Conclusion
The UAE hopes to add around $4 billion to its GDP with the metaverse. It will also expand its workforce, adding over 40,000 employees by 2030. Mars 2117 is an early private-sector project launched in February 2017. It was named after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the ruler of Dubai, who dreamed of building a colony on the red planet. Under such a 100-year plan, Dubai plans to make Mars’s first inhabitable human settlement.