Leading Welsh technology and cyber organisations to deliver technology summit on 1 March with delegation joining the event to explore trade opportunities.
The Welsh Government is bringing together some of Wales’ foremost compound semiconductor, cyber security, fintech and e-mobility businesses and organisations to host a technology summit at Expo 2020 Dubai on 1 March. A dedicated delegation of Welsh tech businesses and organisations will be joining the event to pursue trade partnerships.
The event, ‘Technology for Future Mobility: Powering, Protecting and Monetising’ will showcase technology and cyber innovation across Wales with a focus on its unique compound semiconductor cluster, as well as its thriving cyber security and fintech sectors.
The session will also explore the growth of e-mobility and associated applications across Wales and their potential to support the electric vehicle revolution and the adoption of low carbon technologies.
Technology innovation in Wales
Wales is home to the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster, CSconnected, a community at the heart of a wide range of markets powering megatrends of the future. Much more complex than the long established silicon technology, compound semiconductors are integral to the development of 5G and satellite communication systems, power electronics, RF and wireless devices, photonics and quantum computing as well as other everyday applications.
Collaboration sits at the heart of the Welsh technology sector and this is especially true of its vibrant fintech community, with the not-for-profit Fintech Wales representing one of the UK’s top ten emerging fintech hubs, with a focus on nurturing talent and connecting and enabling the sector’s ecosystem.
Likewise, Cyber Wales is one of the UK’s largest cyber security clusters and is one of the 14 founding members of Global EPIC which brings together the world's foremost cyber security communities from 18 countries to collaborate on cyber security innovation. Having supported local organisations to form a Cyber Security Cluster in Dubai, Cyber Wales members are now strengthening the collaboration with the UAE and into the Middle East by running dedicated virtual cyber security cluster meetings.
The delegation
The United Arab Emirates is well-established as one of Wales’ most important international trading partners. It is currently the UK’s largest civil export market in the Middle East and prior to COVID-19, the UAE was Wales’ largest export market outside the EU and USA with a total value of exports approaching £500 million.
The Welsh Government maintains a strong presence in the UAE and has had a permanent base in the country since 2004, when it established an office at the British Embassy in Dubai. Since then, the office has worked to promote Wales and represent its trade interests both within the Emirates and across the wider MENA region.
As part of efforts to further strengthen the sector’s ties with the UAE and wider MENA region along with other global markets, the Welsh Government will also be supporting nine businesses at the event, which represent a cross-section of the Welsh tech sector across a range of industries.
Welsh Government Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, who will be delivering the keynote speech at the event, said:
“We are hugely proud of the calibre of technology organisations and ecosystems that are operating in Wales. This includes a genuinely world-leading compound semiconductor ecosystem that is helping to power the next industrial revolution as well as renowned fintech and cyber security businesses.
“Driving the movement to low carbon living and addressing the climate change crisis are priorities in Wales and an important thread for our event. I’m particularly looking forward to the discussions we can provoke in this space, with sustainability a key emerging theme from this year’s Expo.
“Having the opportunity to showcase Wales’ tech sector to such a key strategic market and at a truly global event is a huge privilege and we will make the most of this invaluable opportunity to meet and share ideas with leading UAE business and organisations.”
To stay up to date with all the latest news, announcements and events from the Welsh Government at Expo 2020 Dubai, please visit Wales at Dubai Expo 2020 and follow @walesinmena on Twitter and Wales in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) on LinkedIn.
For more information on what Wales has to offer to foreign investors, please visit the Trade and Investment Wales website.