UAE Champions AI-Driven Model for Competition Law Enforcement

The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism has championed an artificial intelligence enforcement model to modernize national antitrust regulation and merger control, Global Competition Review reported. Presented during the GCR Live: MENA 2026 conference in Dubai, the system forms part of the country's AI-enabled National Competition Platform. The platform is designed to automate antitrust assessments and significantly shorten merger clearance timelines.

Published October 14, 2026 Source: Global Competition Review

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Issuing authority: Ministry of Economy and Tourism
Jurisdiction: United Arab Emirates
Publication date: October 13, 2026
Stage: Final rule
Official document: National Competition Platform
Official source: news.google.com

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Global Competition Review reported on 13 October 2026 that the United Arab Emirates is championing an artificial intelligence-powered model for competition law enforcement. The strategy was highlighted during the GCR Live: MENA 2026 conference in Dubai, where UAE competition regulators and international antitrust practitioners convened to discuss regional regulatory updates.

Under this initiative, the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism is implementing its National Competition Platform, integrating AI systems to assist with merger control filings, preliminary antitrust investigations, and exemption procedures. The deployment aims to accelerate regulatory evaluations, targeting merger review periods as short as 15 days.

The technological upgrade aligns with the broader rollout of the UAE's competition regime under Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2023 and Cabinet Resolution No. 59 of 2026. Regulators stated that embedding intelligent platforms into day-to-day oversight positions the UAE among the first jurisdictions worldwide to integrate agentic AI directly into competition enforcement operations.

Legal and regulatory officials at the conference also noted that the UAE's approach focuses on tailored enforcement mechanisms suited to local market dynamics rather than transplanting external regulatory frameworks.