etisalat UAE has become the first telecom operator in the Middle East and North Africa to achieve accredited certification to ISO/IEC 42001:2023 for its Artificial Intelligence Management System, a milestone that moves the company from deploying AI at scale to governing it through an independently assessed framework.
The certification followed an assessment by LRQA, a global provider of assurance, inspection and certification services accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service. ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is the world’s first international standard for AI management systems, offering a structured way to manage AI risks and opportunities while strengthening governance, reliability and continual improvement.
Getting there took teams from across the company, including Technology & Information, AI Engineering & Factory, Business Excellence and business use-case owners.
Marwan Bin Shakar, Chief Technology Officer at etisalat UAE, said strong governance must be developed alongside technical capability as AI use expands. He added that the standard supports consistent controls, impact evaluation and human oversight across the AI lifecycle.
The management system sets requirements for accountability, risk and impact assessments, lifecycle controls, transparency, human oversight, performance evaluation and continual improvement. According to the company, this means governance is being built into the organisation as a whole rather than applied to individual projects.
The framework carries added weight as etisalat UAE widens its AI activity into agentic AI, AI-enabled cybersecurity and collaborative programmes. Examples include the University of Sharjah AI Innovation Lab and the NetSecure360 cybersecurity solution.
For customers and technology partners, the certification offers clearer insight into how AI-enabled services are governed, with common expectations around risk management and responsible deployment.
The achievement supports etisalat’s goal of becoming a leading AI-powered telco and complements the UAE’s wider ambition to lead in AI investment, capability development and safe use of the technology.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
