By
Mayowa Adebajo
April 10th, 2024
Dubai plans to build a Metaverse wherein officials and residents can conduct their communication and other transactions in the virtual world.
The government of Dubai has been pretty active when it comes to adopting next-generation technologies such as blockchain. As per the latest reports, Dubai is reportedly taking its departments to the Metaverse.
The Dubai government is looking at an interactive way to reach out to its citizens. The country has already come up with its Dubai Metaverse Strategy making the Metaverse an important part of its future. Sharad Agarwal, CEO at Dubai-based Metaverse company Cybergear, said that local Dubai citizens will be able to live, work, play and socialize in Metaverse.
Agarwal’s comments came while speaking at the MetaDecrypt Web 3.0 Summit on Sunday, July 3. He said:
“We have started getting a lot of inquiries from government departments and ministries to make them Metaverse-enabled. It is just a matter of time before Dubai becomes the crypto and Metaverse hub of the world – not only the region. Initial steps have already been taken, so it is a matter of time before there will be a mandate for all government departments to start the onboarding process”.
Agarwal further said that the government will decide on which services to offer. Later, they will create an entire business model to onboard the community to the Metaverse just like we do in the real world. However, he said that all these things involved hard work and this process will take time.
Dubai Metaverse Strategy
Dubai has been working on actively participating in the Metaverse space. Under its Dubai Metaverse Strategy, the country has initiated a group of measures with the goal that the metaverse industry contributes to 1% of the country’s GDP by 2030.
The country also seeks to provide 42,000 jobs in the Metaverse by that year. Currently, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) established its office in the Metaverse. This also makes it the first regulator to have a presence in the virtual world.
Agarwal added that once Dubai establishes its own Metaverse, officials and residents will be able to visit their offices in the Metaverse. Explaining through an example, he added:
“Dubai has a huge real estate market. In the future, people will be able to fly like superman to a community, look at the villas and view the villas and also configure the interior decoration to their liking. Once they’re satisfied, they can pay digitally. It is possible today as some developed countries have taken the lead in this field”.
Furthermore, he also added that UAE residents will be able to pay their bills in the Metaverse. As per some analysts, the Metaverse could be an $8 trillion to $13 trillion industry by 2030 with 5 billion people.