GCC AI News — 28 Sep 2026

The UAE and Lebanon launched the 'One Million Lebanese AI Experts' initiative on September 25, announced during a meeting between Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Run under the UAE's Government Experience Exchange Programme with the Lebanese government, it will train one million people in generative AI and prompt engineering, giving citizens of all ages and professions practical skills to use AI tools in their work and daily lives, including how to write effective instructions for AI applications.

It shows the UAE positioning itself as a regional hub not only for AI infrastructure but for human capital, sharing its own government transformation experience with a neighbour. Mass AI literacy is one of the highest-leverage ways to spread the technology's benefits across an entire society.

A government or large employer can adapt this model by running free, practical prompt-engineering training for staff and citizens, so people gain hands-on AI skills rather than waiting for formal degree programmes.

Saudi Arabia has expanded its national AI training drive, with more than 1.56 million people now benefiting from programmes led by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), according to figures highlighted during the fourth UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI in Riyadh. The SAMAI initiative passed its original one-million target and now exceeds 1.5 million participants, including thousands of specialists in data and AI. SDAIA said the Kingdom has introduced more than 40 academic AI programmes since the start of 2026, and a next phase, SAMAI 2, will offer specialist training for sectors such as energy, healthcare, education and agriculture.

It is one of the largest national AI upskilling efforts anywhere, and hosting the UNESCO ethics forum signals Saudi Arabia wants to lead on responsible use, not just adoption. Broad, ethics-minded training helps ensure AI's economic gains are shared widely across the population.

A sector leader can follow SAMAI 2's model by pairing broad awareness training with deep, domain-specific AI courses, so healthcare or energy teams learn tools tailored to their real workflows.

The UAE Cabinet, chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, approved the Cabinet AI Advisor system, built around 32 specialised AI advisors that analyse policies, legislation, strategies and national initiatives. Announced after a Cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, the advisors assess each subject's financial, economic, social and environmental impact, link it to global best practice and UAE national priorities, and present recommendations from an approved set of sources. The system is designed to work with ministers around the clock to follow up on decisions, operating under confidentiality and cybersecurity safeguards, while officials keep final decision-making authority.

It is one of the world's most concrete examples of embedding agentic AI directly into government work, aimed at faster, higher-quality policy analysis. Crucially, the design keeps humans as the final decision-makers, offering a model for AI-assisted governance that other governments will study.

A public-sector or corporate strategy team can use AI advisors to pull together impact assessments and relevant past decisions in minutes rather than weeks, freeing officials to focus on judgement and trade-offs.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced plans to become the world's first AI-native financial centre, embedding AI across its regulation, infrastructure and talent base. The initiative is expected to contribute about USD 3.5 billion (AED 12.9 billion) to Dubai's economy and create 25,000 new jobs, according to the centre. It builds on DIFC's existing Dubai AI Campus, described as the region's largest dedicated hub for AI companies, and aligns with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which targets a major annual contribution from the digital economy. The move positions DIFC to attract AI firms, investors and skilled workers to the emirate.

Making an entire financial centre AI-native, from rules to infrastructure to skills, is an ambitious bet that could reshape how banks, fintechs and regulators operate in the region. The projected jobs and economic contribution show how Gulf hubs are turning AI strategy into concrete growth plans.

A fintech or financial firm choosing where to base regional operations can weigh AI-ready hubs like DIFC, where supportive regulation, AI infrastructure and talent pipelines lower the cost of building AI products.

At the conclusion of the second 'Engineer It with AI' competition, Oman's Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology highlighted the growth of Mu'een AI, the country's own large language model designed to reflect Omani context and identity. The platform has surpassed 20,000 users and is now used by more than 60 government entities, providing intelligent, locally grounded solutions and helping institutions improve efficiency. The competition itself drew more than 300 teams and over 1,200 participants nationwide, focused this year on agentic AI, with winning teams building applicable prototypes in areas from robotics to public services.

A sovereign, culturally grounded language model shows smaller Gulf states building AI that fits their own language and needs rather than relying solely on foreign models. Wide government adoption plus a national competition creates both the tools and the talent pipeline behind Oman Vision 2040.

A government or enterprise serving Arabic speakers can prioritise locally trained models that understand regional dialect and context, improving accuracy for citizen services over generic global models.

stc Bahrain launched Bayan, a customer-service capability built on AI agents that the operator says is designed to resolve up to 70% of routine customer contacts, such as balance checks, plan queries, simple troubleshooting and billing clarifications. By automating the bulk of repetitive requests, Bayan is meant to free human agents to focus on more complex or sensitive issues and to serve customers outside business hours and during peak demand. The rollout positions AI agents as a front-line layer in the operator's contact centre, part of a broader Gulf trend of applying agentic AI to everyday consumer services.

It is a practical, civilian example of AI agents improving day-to-day services for ordinary people, changing how quickly customers get answers. The real test, and the honest question the operator will be judged on, is whether automated resolutions genuinely satisfy customers rather than just deflecting them.

A service business can deploy AI agents on its highest-volume, lowest-complexity requests first, measuring genuine resolution and satisfaction, while routing anything sensitive straight to a human.

Qatar's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), with Google Cloud, launched a national upskilling initiative to strengthen digital skills and capacity across the country. Announced at Google Cloud Summit Doha 2026 at the Qatar National Convention Centre, coinciding with the third anniversary of Google's Doha cloud region, the programme uses frameworks like the Advanced Solutions Lab and curricula for Gemini Enterprise and Looker to give participants the technical proficiency to architect and deploy enterprise-scale cloud and AI solutions. It runs under a five-year framework agreement between MCIT and Google Cloud, supporting Qatar's national digital economy goals.

Deep, vendor-backed technical training helps Qatar move from using AI to building and deploying it at scale, a key step for its NDS3 digital strategy. Partnerships that pair local ministries with global cloud providers accelerate how quickly a country can stand up serious AI capability.

An organisation planning cloud AI projects can enrol staff in structured, platform-specific training so teams can design and run production AI systems in-house instead of depending entirely on outside consultants.

During UN General Assembly week, Microsoft President Brad Smith announced a new Middle East technology framework focused initially on Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, committing more than $10 billion in capital and operating spending across the region by 2030 to expand cloud computing and AI infrastructure. Kuwait, which is placing AI and human capital at the heart of its investment priorities, is a named beneficiary. The framework covers technology, digital resilience and human-capital development, including expanded connectivity, a network of cybersecurity champions in each country, and increased investment in Microsoft's AI for Good Labs to spread AI's benefits equitably.

A multi-billion-dollar, multi-year commitment signals sustained confidence in the Gulf as an AI growth region and gives Kuwait infrastructure and skills it can build on. Framing part of the plan around 'AI for Good' points to a focus on societal benefit alongside commercial expansion.

A business in one of the named countries can plan AI projects around expanding local cloud regions and skills programmes, reducing latency and compliance friction by keeping data and workloads in-country.

Oman launched a Green Artificial Intelligence Alliance to promote cleaner energy use in AI and high-performance computing as it grows its digital economy. The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology held the alliance's inaugural meeting with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and the Authority for Public Services Regulation, bringing together government bodies, private companies, universities and investors. Members approved the alliance's founding document, formed a technical committee and reviewed a 2026 work plan focused on increasing renewable and low-emission energy for AI, supporting research into energy-efficient computing, and encouraging companies to adopt greener technologies, in line with Oman Vision 2040.

AI's soaring electricity demand is a growing concern worldwide, and Oman is one of the first Gulf states to build a formal coalition tying AI growth to clean energy. Linking digital expansion with sustainability offers a template for responsible AI infrastructure across the region.

A company building or renting data-centre capacity can prioritise providers powered by renewable energy and energy-efficient hardware, cutting both emissions and long-term power costs.

The Emirates Foundation signed a partnership with the Responsible AI Future Foundation in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, as part of a UAE-led push to harness AI for global good. The Responsible AI Future Foundation, launched by Microsoft and Abu Dhabi's G42 with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence as a founding academic partner, helps governments and organisations across the Middle East and Global South build sovereign AI capabilities suited to their own languages and cultures. The two foundations will work together to put responsible AI into practice, build skills, and ensure benefits reach communities in areas of critical need.

It reflects a distinctive Gulf approach: using AI diplomacy and philanthropy to help developing nations build their own AI capacity rather than depend on others. Focusing on sovereign, culturally appropriate AI for the Global South could widen who benefits from the technology.

A nonprofit or development agency can partner with AI-for-good programmes to pilot locally relevant use cases, then transfer the skills and tools to communities so they can run and adapt them independently.