TELUS Digital participates in Canada-UAE Investment Summit
Abu Dhabi hosted the Canada-UAE Investment Summit, bringing together senior dignitaries, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and key UAE ministers.
The summit focused on strengthening bilateral trade and advancing strategic investment opportunities across priority sectors such as energy, infrastructure, technology and artificial intelligence.
One panel on the key subject of artificial intelligence featured Tobias Dengel, president of TELUS Digital, the global technology division of TELUS Corporation. Specializing in digital customer experiences and digital transformation, TELUS Digital expanded into the Middle East earlier this year with the launch of its Dubai office.
The panel, titled “AI and Strategic Investment: Driving Global Competitiveness,” was moderated by Harrison Lung, Chief Strategy Officer at e&, and featured Technology Innovation Institute CEO Najwa Aaraj; Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute CEO Valerie Pisano; and Space42 Managing Director Karim Michel Sabbagh.
In attendance at the summit alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were the UAE ministers of Industry & Advanced Technology, Sultan Al Jaber; Foreign Trade, Thani Al Zeyoudi; and Investment, Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi, as well as senior government officials and executives from organizations such as ADNOC, Mubadala, TAQA and Masdar.
“The sheer scale of ambition and commitment to digitization in the Middle East is truly inspiring,” Dengel said after the event. “We see the region as one of the most exciting global markets, characterised by rapid growth, a robust investment profile and proactive government support for digital transformation, specifically AI, with an opportunity to leapfrog to a leading global position.”
Dengel added that it will be vital to have key leaders and capabilities on the ground to build on the momentum, ones who deeply understand the market and can partner effectively with local companies, stating, “TELUS Digital brings the hard-won perspective of Canadian and US organizations deploying AI at scale while upholding rigorous safety and security standards.”
Billions in investments
The summit, hosted by the Canada-UAE Business Council (CUBC) together with ADNOC and XRG, established new building blocks for deeper cooperation, with several fresh partnership agreements announced. These include joint innovation in AI to advance investments now exceeding $70 billion under what has been dubbed the “Sand and Snow” alliance.
“The collaboration between Emirati and Canadian institutions continues to open new avenues for investment and innovation and our shared ambition has never been stronger,” said CUBC co-chair and ADNOC’s upstream CEO, Musabbeh Al Kaabi. “Together, we can accelerate solutions in energy, technology and infrastructure, creating long-term value for our economies.”
Transformation in the Middle East
Mirroring its global portfolio, TELUS Digital in the region offers an end-to-end portfolio of digital transformation and AI services, spanning front- end experience design, strategy consulting and enterprise AI data solutions, designed to support large-scale government and private-sector initiatives across the Middle East.
The practice is led by Mona Kadouh, a former Bain & Company director with deep expertise in digital and strategy transformations in the GCC.
“As the UAE positions itself at the forefront of AI adoption, our Dubai office supports organizations across key sectors such as energy, transportation, logistics, healthcare, education, financial services, telecom, media, hospitality and retail,” said Kadouh.
TELUS Digital delivers regional projects through onshore and nearshore operations backed by more than 80,000 team members located in over 30 global locations, including Romania, Morocco, South Africa and India.
