The seventh Arab Competition Forum opened in Dubai on October 29, bringing together regional and international competition authorities, experts, academics and private-sector representatives to shape fairer digital markets across the Arab region.
Held under the theme “Competition policy in the digital age: maintaining fairness and equality in the market”, the two-day forum is organised by ESCWA and the Competition Department of the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism. UNCTAD, the OECD and the COMESA Competition and Consumer Commission are partners.
Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri opened the event. He said the growing role of digital platforms and artificial intelligence calls for continuous development of regulatory policy that balances innovation with open markets. The ministry processed 85 economic concentration applications between 2023 and September 28, 2026, covering transactions worth more than AED 81 billion. AI-powered tools have cut processing time from about 100 days to 15.
ESCWA assessments show the average score for competition frameworks across Arab countries rose from 3.73 out of 7 in 2021 to 4.1 in 2024. ESCWA Executive Secretary Rania Al-Mashat said in a recorded message that “legislation alone is no longer sufficient”. UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno warned that “growth without competition is fragile”.
Sessions will cover ex-ante regulation and enforcement, regional cooperation on digital competition policy, merger control in the digital sector and coordination between competition and consumer-protection authorities. The forum will close with a discussion aimed at concrete recommendations.
The opening session also featured an awards ceremony for the Student Competition Challenge. Nafisabono Mominova of the American University of Ras Al Khaimah took first place for her paper on Apple’s App Store and competition enforcement. Sofia Abdel Latif of UAEU placed second, followed by a University of Sharjah team in third.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
