Abu Dhabi [UAE], December 3 (ANI/WAM): The United Arab Emirates is celebrating its 54th Eid Al Etihad as it continues its steady journey toward a bright future, strengthened by a series of domestic and global achievements that have marked 2025, the Year of Community, under its leadership.
The UAE expanded its active presence on the international stage, solidified its position as an influential economic power regionally and globally, and continued its distinctive contributions to humanitarian work. Domestically, several high-quality achievements provided fresh momentum to the nation’s sustainable development path.
The UAE reinforced its leading position in environmental sustainability through a series of local and international initiatives. These included the announcement of a first-of-its-kind marine exploration voyage to conduct a comprehensive survey of seabed geology in UAE waters, and the development of a geospatial data platform for agriculture and water resources.
In 2025, the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah announced the official inclusion of the Khor Kalba Mangrove Centre in the Wetlands Link International network, a specialized global initiative supporting environmental education and wetland conservation.
The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative launched the “Al Miyah Challenge” to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative water solutions. The agriculture-focused Al Miyah Challenge is the first in a series of competitions under the broader program.
The Environment Agency–Abu Dhabi launched the “Abu Dhabi Coral Garden” initiative, the largest project of its kind in the Middle East and a major step toward protecting the marine environment and enhancing biodiversity in Abu Dhabi.
Sharjah inaugurated “SANA,” the emirate’s first solar power plant. Spanning 850,000 square meters, the facility can produce 60 megawatts of energy. The UAE also announced an expansion of nature reserves in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to 20 percent of the emirate’s total area.
The UAE broke ground on a project combining a 5.2 GW solar photovoltaic plant with a 19 GWh battery energy storage system in Abu Dhabi, making it the world’s largest solar and battery storage project capable of delivering 1 GW of clean, around-the-clock baseload power. This landmark undertaking represents a significant milestone in the UAE’s clean energy transition and its broader sustainability commitments.
The UAE also continued expanding renewable energy projects across several continents through Masdar and other national companies, advancing solar, wind, and hydrogen plants in countries including Saudi Arabia, Spain, Indonesia, various African nations, Yemen, and Egypt—providing clean electricity to millions.
The UAE made rapid progress toward AI-driven transformation and the development of a sustainable digital ecosystem. The country recorded a 97 percent rate of artificial intelligence tool usage—the highest in the world—and surpassed 450,000 programmers nationwide.
Abu Dhabi witnessed the launch of the comprehensive UAE–US AI campus with a 5-gigawatt capacity, the largest facility of its kind outside the United States. The UAE and France also launched a Framework for Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence to boost collaboration, including developing a 1 GW AI campus in France and investing in advanced infrastructure such as data centers and supercomputing facilities.
UAE-based MGX, in cooperation with BlackRock and Microsoft, announced that Nvidia and xAI had joined the “AI Infrastructure Partnership,” which aims to invest in next-generation data centers and advanced energy solutions, with potential total investments reaching USD 100 billion.
In the same context, the UAE Cabinet approved its support for Google Cloud’s launch of its first Global Cyber Security Centre of Excellence in Abu Dhabi—an initiative reinforcing the UAE’s commitment to digital transformation and cybersecurity. The center will support more than 20,300 specialized cybersecurity jobs and strengthen the national cybersecurity ecosystem.
At the G20 Summit, the UAE announced the US$1 billion AI for Development initiative to support and finance artificial intelligence projects in African countries.
The UAE continued updating its legislative and regulatory framework, issuing a number of new decrees, laws, and decisions. It introduced four new visit visa categories—for AI specialists, entertainment, events, and cruise tourism—and launched the first smart legislative system powered by artificial intelligence.
The UAE also announced the National Artificial Intelligence System, which will serve as an advisory member of the UAE Cabinet beginning in January 2026. It will also serve as an advisory member of the Ministerial Development Council and the boards of directors of federal entities and government companies.
The year 2025 was marked by strong momentum in national policies, strategies, and initiatives designed to anticipate the future. These included the new phase of the UAE’s National Strategy to Attract and Retain Talent 2031, the National Cybersecurity Strategy, the National Geospatial Information Policy, the second phase of the Zero Bureaucracy Programme, the Proactive Government Performance System, the National Policy for Economic Clusters, the Unified UAE Numbers platform, the National Agenda for Family Growth 2031, and the Emirati National Identity Strategy. (ANI/WAM)
About The Author
