Photo Credit: WAM
Dubai, UAE — June 2026 — The UAE is taking part of the VivaTech 2026 event, leading a delegation of nearly 20 government bodies, business incubators, and homegrown startups.
According to the Emirates News Agency, Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri touched down at the forum to position the Emirates firmly at the heart of the global innovation conversation.
Running from 17 to 20 June under the theme “AI: Impact Not Illusion”, this year’s edition marks the tenth anniversary of VivaTech, which has grown from a regional forum into a global stage drawing some 180,000 visitors, more than 14,000 startups, and upwards of 3,600 investors from over 40 countries.
The UAE’s Ministry of Economy and Tourism is attending for the third consecutive year, a signal that this is no longer an occasional appearance, but a strategic fixture on the country’s international calendar.
The centrepiece of the UAE’s presence was a headline panel session titled “The New Growth Playbook,” where bin Touq engaged directly with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and former French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on the economic transformations being driven by accelerating AI adoption and next-generation tech models.
The minister laid out the UAE’s vision for a resilient, diversified economy, one that treats technology not as a sideshow but as a primary engine of sustainable growth.
The UAE and France share deep economic ties, with more than 11,355 French companies currently operating on UAE soil across sectors spanning tourism, technology, AI, health, manufacturing, energy, defence, and luxury services.
Bin Touq described the relationship as one built on a shared forward-looking vision, a joint commitment to building knowledge-based, innovation-driven economies fit for the decades ahead.
The UAE contingent included representatives from Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem; Ras Al Khaimah’s economic zones authority RAKEZ; Sharjah’s entrepreneurship hub Sheraa; the UAE Space Agency; Masdar City; UAE University; and the Emirates Entrepreneurs Association, among others.
Ten UAE startups and SMEs joined the show floor, representing sectors from fintech and AI-powered retail payments to agri-tech, sustainable infrastructure, and digital supply chain management.
The companies on display reflected the sophistication and diversity that the UAE’s startup ecosystem has quietly been building. Showcased solutions ranged from AI-driven platforms connecting startups with investors and automating financing workflows, to smart banking personalisation tools, integrated food supply chain management platforms, and electricity-free smart irrigation technology, offering a glimpse at where Gulf innovation is heading when natural constraints meet engineering ingenuity.
Rounding out the programme, the UAE Embassy in Paris co-hosted a dedicated networking event on the sidelines of VivaTech, bringing UAE founders face-to-face with French and international investors and corporates, with the explicit aim of seeding the next wave of cross-border partnerships.
