MOEI: H.E Suhail Al Mazrouei Inaugurates The World Conference On Automation And Robotics In The Construction Field “2021”

His Excellency Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, inaugurated the activities of the 38th session of the World Conference on Automation and Robotics in Construction Field for 2021. This event is considered the largest specialized in the field and is hosted by the United Arab Emirates as the first country in the region.

The virtual version of the global conference sponsored by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, over a period of 3 days, brings together 420 researchers from 22 countries, in addition to 85 research centers and international universities, during which they review 200 specialized scientific research papers covering 20 themes in the scientific fields of the conference to see the latest global innovative technologies and solutions in automation and robotics in the field of construction, with a high-level global participation of Excellencies, experts and specialists.



At the beginning of his opening speech, His Excellency Suhail Al Mazrouei welcomed all the participants in the conference, hoping to achieve the best possible results through the generous participation of all the concerned in this event, paving the way for innovations in building smart and sustainable cities, exchanging views and contributing to strengthening the system of artificial intelligence, technological development and innovations in various sectors especially infrastructure, which constitutes a major supporter of the sustainable development in its various aspects and the welfare of mankind.

His Excellency said: “The future holds within it many rapid changes and great challenges represented in adapting the modern systems and technology to serve our world, realizing the impact of the modern infrastructure systems, and ensuring a smooth transition from traditional systems to modern patterns, which requires us to work hard to keep pace with it and benefit from it to serve the aspirations of our governments and support our path towards a prosperous future filled with ambitious achievements”.

His Excellency added: “Climate change represents one of the most important issues at the national and global levels, given the economic, social and environmental risks that it entails. Therefore, this issue has received great attention in the United Arab Emirates, and the efforts made by the state to confront the repercussions of climate change have been multiplied. Among these initiatives, strategies and policies aimed at strengthening the efforts to deal with this issue the latest of which was the launch of its strategic initiative aiming at achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 few days before the United Nations Climate Conference “COP26” hosted by the Scottish city of Glasgow; in addition to the National Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to raise the efficiency of the individual and institutional consumption by 40%, raising the contribution of clean energy to the total energy mix produced in the country from 25% to 50%, and enhancing the energy efficiency, sustainable transport policy, and the sustainable urban planning … and other ones.

His Excellency added: “We hope that the use of robots and automation in the construction industry will be a qualitative addition to our efforts to confront the repercussions of climate change and reduce the environmental impact of the building and construction industry on our future cities. We, in the UAE, aim to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by 70% by the year 2050; therefore, we always welcome to experiment the new technologies and support the academic and industrial R&D to improve the efficiency and reduce the emissions and cost in the infrastructure.”

His Excellency pointed out that the United Arab Emirates will host a number of major international events and activities, including the World Conference on Automation and Robotics in the Construction Field for 2021, Expo 2020 Dubai, and the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Exhibition and Conference “ADIPEC 2021”, whose activities will start next week under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, “May God protect him”, and hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company “ADNOC”, with the support of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure in the UAE, Abu Dhabi Chamber, Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, and others, which confirms the great confidence that the country enjoys in the global community and at all levels, especially in the field of organizing and hosting exhibitions, conferences and major events, especially in light of the challenges facing the whole world as a result of the “Covid 19” pandemic.

His Excellency explained that the UAE hosts more than 190 countries at Expo 2020 under the slogan “Connecting Minds and Creating the Future “, which is in line with the general perspective of the activities of the 38th session of the World Conference on Automation and Robotics in the Construction Field for the year 2021. So it is necessary for us to participate together to create the future of infrastructure by taking advantage of the Expo 2020, which represents an international platform to reach the largest number of countries to make a global impact in the construction and infrastructure, and to move quickly to find innovative solutions to the great challenges that our cities will face, and he congratulated, on this occasion, Colombia for winning the hosting of the 39th session of the conference, wishing it to make the most of such global event.

The UAE had won the hosting of this major global event, during its participation in the work of the 36th session of the conference held in Canada, where the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure submitted the hosting file in partnership and cooperation with the National Program for Artificial Intelligence, Dubai Tourism Authority, University of Sharjah, and Gymnos Group for Business Information Services and the UAE researchers portal, and the file won the trust and admiration of the World Organization for Automation and Robotics in Construction and its member states.