The World Economic Forum has published two reports estimating that artificial intelligence could unlock more than $1 trillion in economic and sustainability value across the Middle East and North Africa by 2030, released as the Forum and the Government of Dubai host the inaugural Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders in Dubai from 13 to 15 October.

The first report, Unlocking Value: AI for Resilient Growth in MENA, was developed with Bain & Company and sets out where the value would sit: up to $200 billion in sustainable financing through the financial sector, $370 billion in sustainable investment flows enabled by the public sector, $250 billion in long-term asset losses avoided, $90 billion in increased valuation from improved sustainability performance in the energy sector, and $100 billion in sustainable projects launched through cross-sector partnerships. Maroun Kairouz, a managing director at the World Economic Forum, said the region has the resources, investment capacity and ambition to become a major centre of AI-led growth, and that turning that ambition into reality will require innovation across data-centre infrastructure, energy and water systems. Case studies cited First Abu Dhabi Bank in sustainable finance and Adnoc in the energy sector.

The second report, Optimizing Hyperscale Data Centre Infrastructure in MENA, developed with Saudi Research and Media Group, warned that the region's energy and water consumption will have to be managed as AI infrastructure scales, singling out data-centre cooling as a priority area for innovation given extreme heat and water scarcity. It noted that connecting new data centres to the grid in the region can take between two and five years, compared with longer waits in mature markets. Nedaa Almubarak, managing director of SRMG Think, said the opportunity lies in aligning intelligent infrastructure with efficient resource use to build resilient and competitive digital ecosystems.