Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri welcomes Bill Gates to the UAE

Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri welcomes Bill Gates to the UAE for the unveiling of an agricultural innovation project update, one year on from joint US$200 million investment

Dubai, UAE – 21 November 2024 – Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri, Head of International Affairs Office at the Presidential Court, yesterday welcomed Bill Gates, Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the UAE for the unveiling of a project update one year on from the announcement of the Gates Foundation and UAE Partnership on agriculture innovation and food system transformation in response to climate change. 

Unveiled during COP28 hosted in the UAE, the Gates Foundation and the UAE made a combined US$200 million investment in agricultural innovation to harness the power of AI and technology in response to immediate and long-term threats facing food systems caused by climate change. Since its announcement, the investment has supported organizations, like CGIAR, that are on the forefront of developing agricultural innovations to support and enhance the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries around the world.

During a visit today at the Emirates Palace, HE Mariam held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Gates. The visit, which also included the presence of distinguished dignitaries such as His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, Adviser to the UAE President on Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs, and Secretary General of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), concluded with a tour of four key innovative projects funded by the Gates Foundation and UAE Partnership, including: 

• CGIAR AI Hub and AgrilLLM – which is exploring the use of large language models (LLMs) to automize the first interaction stage for providing agriculture extension services, particularly for smallholders in low-and-middle income countries many of whom face resource constraints and other challenges in the face of climate change.
• International Red Palm Weevil Consortium – which looks to create a Consortium of international organizations, governments, private sector, and local stakeholders to sustainably minimize the significant threat to palm trees that the Red Palm Weevil (RPW) poses worldwide. 
• Technical Assistance – which has established the Future Food Systems program, focused on supporting 15 countries in developing four core analytical products designed to inform their NDCs, NAPs, NAIPs, and NDPs – Agrifood System Diagnostic, Economywide Risk Profile, Climate-Agriculture Vulnerability Assessment, and Integrated Mitigation-Adaptation Assessment Report.
• AIM for Scale Weather & AI-based Weather Forecasting – which is dedicated to scaling cost-effective innovations to improve the livelihoods of farmers in low- and middle-income countries. AIM for Scale is leading the development of an Innovation Package focused on generating and disseminating high-quality weather forecasts to meet the needs of hundreds of millions of farmers in the next two years.

Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri said: “The UAE has taken concrete steps to turn pledges and investments into action. The groundbreaking work on display today is a testament to the UAE’s commitment and global leadership on food security and agricultural innovation.”

Her Excellency added: “I am delighted to have Bill Gates as our guest of honor here today to see first-hand the progress being made to tackle the global agricultural challenges we face as a result of climate change.”

His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai commented: “Meeting with Bill Gates highlighted our shared vision of harnessing AI and technology to address global challenges. With AI71’s agri-tech solutions powered by TII’s Falcon models, we aim to enhance food security, sustainability, and inclusive growth. The UAE is committed to advancing this vision through innovation and partnerships, demonstrating AI’s potential to create a better future for all.”

ENDS