In a project launched at Dubai’s Museum of the Future, it was announced that the UAE’s economic ministry is now setting up shop in metaverse. With this move, the country hopes to become a pioneer in the immersive virtual world. 

Officials stated that ‘those who use other means to venture within’ are likely to find a ministry open for business with companies and even ready to sign bilateral agreements with foreign governments. 

UAE’s economy minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri spoke at the inaugural Dubai Metaverse Assembly which was held at the museum. He concurred that the metaverse is an online world where users would eventually be able to work, game, and study but that it is still in a ‘test’ phase. 

UAE launched a bold Mars mission, ‘Hope Probe’ in July 2020 with the aim to study Martian weather dynamics. It was the fifth country to reach the Martian orbit after the US, Russia, China, the EU, and India. With a history of conducting such exemplary projects, that also include the 830-metre (2,723-foot) tall Burj Khalifa, UAE hopes that the metaverse would add $4 billion to its annual GDP and 40,000 jobs to its workforce by 2030. 

The assembly witnessed participation from representatives of major tech giants who connected with developers and entrepreneurs to explore the potential of the metaverse. 

Interacting with AFP, Al Marri said, “In the last couple of years we’ve seen investments, we’ve seen companies move in, and with the changes of the (visa) regime… we see talent coming in. We trained our employees to really immerse themselves in the metaverse, use the metaverse and engage with the Generation Z that is going to come.” 

In an attempt to become one of the world’s top ten metaverse economies, Dubai plans to attract 1,000 companies that specialise in blockchain and related technologies and anticipates being aided by eased visa rules for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creatives.

Meta, when asked about Dubai’s prospects of becoming a hub in metaverse, said, “If we look at the context of Dubai, there’s already a clear strategy and goals to accelerate metaverse adoption and investments in the building blocks of the metaverse.”