UAE Regulation Lab signs MoU with Malaysia's Futurise to accelerate regulatory innovation

• Fast-track emerging solutions through regulatory sandboxes and other initiatives
• Agreement lets both sides explore cross-border collaboration and R&D initiatives

The UAE Regulation Lab (RegLab), under the General Secretariat of the UAE Cabinet, has joined forces with Futurise, a Malaysian company under the purview of the Ministry of Finance, to create a legislative environment for regulation of innovation.

To fast-track emerging solutions through regulatory sandboxes and other initiatives in Malaysia and the UAE, the two partners signed an MoU.

The ceremony in the UAE saw the agreement signed by Maryam Alhammadi, Minister of State and Secretary General of the UAE Cabinet and Rosihan Zain Baharudin, CEO of Futurise.

Maryam said, "This Memorandum of Understanding will enable us to band together to discuss challenges, innovative approaches and ideas that will amplify our regulatory efforts and achieve global standards and benchmarks in creating a thriving regulatory innovation ecosystem which will truly transform the sector."

The agreement lets both parties explore cross-border collaboration and R&D initiatives. It also fosters new technologies for entrepreneurs and businesses in the two countries.

Rosihan expressed his confidence that the collaboration will open up more space for the future economy to grow under the framework of Malaysia's New Investment Policy and the country's digital economy aspirations for Malaysia.

"This will help us in refining a lot of our initiatives at Futurise and steer us in the right direction by looking at best practices in other nations. Our combined knowledge bank with UAE Regulations Lab will symbiotically build a strong foundational layer for both nations to tap into and open up endless possibilities for more dynamic innovative solutions to come to fruition," he added.

The partnership also enables co-research activities on areas of common interest, such as the design, development and management of regulatory sandbox programmes and open innovation platforms for numerous industries. 

The MoU signing ceremony was followed up with two RegTalk sessions participated by industry experts on various mobility topics organised by UAE Regulations Lab and Futurise. Stretched over three days, the visit to the UAE by the Malaysian delegates also featured meetings and networking sessions with ecosystem bodies within the UAE to provide access and exchange necessary to promote discussions and collaborations that will revolutionise the future of mobility.