At the UNGA High-Level Week in New York, Cyber Security Head Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti calls for cross-border threat intelligence sharing, post-quantum readiness, and private-sector co-development.
NEW YORK —The United Arab Emirates called for binding global cooperation on artificial intelligence governance and cyber defence during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week, warning that cross-border digital threats demand shared operational readiness and embedded safeguards.
Addressing a series of high-level multilateral dialogues, strategic roundtables, and bilateral meetings in New York on Thursday, Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government, positioned digital defence as an indispensable foundation for economic stability and modern infrastructure.
“Cybersecurity is a fundamental enabler of secure digital transformation, trusted digital economies, and secure smart cities,” Al Kuwaiti told international delegates. “As governments, infrastructure, and communities become increasingly connected, security must be embedded by design across digital services, emerging technologies, and smart systems.”
The UAE delegation’s engagements spanned discussions on post-quantum transition readiness, responsible AI frameworks, and critical infrastructure protection, alongside broader tracks on sustainable development and digital humanitarian aid. Throughout the sessions, the Emirates pressed for an overhaul of international protocol concerning cyber threats, arguing that unilateral national defences are insufficient against borderless disruptions.
Al Kuwaiti stressed that sovereign protection requires deeper, real-time collaboration among states. Effective collective resilience depends on institutionalised threat-intelligence exchanges, harmonised international standards, and proactive preparations for cryptographic shifts driven by quantum computing.
Turning to industry collaboration, the UAE cybersecurity chief urged governments to rethink their ties with commercial technology vendors. National capabilities, he said, cannot rely on off-the-shelf procurement.
Instead, states should establish co-development frameworks with private-sector partners. Al Kuwaiti pointed to knowledge transfer, joint research and development, domestic testing sandboxes, and dedicated Centres of Excellence that bridge the gap between academic institutions, commercial vendors, and state entities. Such cooperation allows governments to turn imported expertise into indigenous talent and retain technological sovereignty while accelerating deployment timelines.
Domestically, the UAE has integrated machine learning, automated monitoring, and predictive analytics into its state cybersecurity apparatus. These capabilities allow federal agencies to detect anomalous activity early and mount coordinated incident responses before core infrastructure faces disruption.
Al Kuwaiti noted that this operational framework works in tandem with national startup incubators, university accelerators, and pilot deployment programmes, creating a pathway that transitions early-stage research into enterprise-grade security tools.
The UAE delegation framed this strategy as a unified model combining infrastructure protection, ethical AI adoption, and cross-sector funding into a citizen-first digital ecosystem—one it aims to export through multilateral forums as governments confront emerging computational vulnerabilities.
