etisalat UAE achieves landmark AI governance certification, first in MENA region
The telecommunications operator has secured accredited certification for its Artificial Intelligence Management System, demonstrating a commitment to responsible innovation and structured governance as AI applications expand across its operations.
etisalat UAE has become the first telecommunications operator in the Middle East and North Africa region to achieve accredited certification to ISO/IEC 42001:2023 for its Artificial Intelligence Management System. The achievement represents a significant milestone in the organisation’s evolution from deploying AI at considerable scale to governing it through a rigorously structured and independently assessed framework.
The certification follows a comprehensive independent assessment conducted by LRQA, a globally recognised provider of assurance, inspection and certification services, accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service to certify organisations against the ISO/IEC 42001 standard. This international benchmark constitutes the world’s first globally recognised standard specifically designed for AI management systems, establishing a structured framework through which organisations can manage AI-related risks and opportunities whilst simultaneously strengthening governance, reliability and mechanisms for continual improvement.
The certification process demanded extensive collaboration across etisalat UAE’s Technology and Information divisions, AI Engineering and Factory teams, Business Excellence units and business use-case owners. This multidisciplinary approach ensured that technology expertise, governance rigour and operational understanding were brought to bear throughout the assessment process.
Marwan Bin Shakar, Chief Technology Officer at etisalat UAE, observed that robust governance must develop in parallel with technical capability as the organisation expands AI deployment across its services and operations. He highlighted that ISO/IEC 42001 provides a structured methodology for managing AI-related risks, conducting impact evaluations and maintaining appropriate human oversight throughout the entire AI lifecycle, thereby enabling accelerated innovation whilst applying consistent controls that support responsible deployment and foster stakeholder confidence.
The certification demonstrates that AI governance has been embedded systematically throughout etisalat UAE’s organisational structure rather than applied in isolation to individual initiatives. The organisation’s AI Management System establishes comprehensive requirements encompassing accountability mechanisms, AI risk and impact assessments, lifecycle controls, transparency protocols, human oversight provisions, performance evaluation criteria and frameworks for continual improvement.
As etisalat UAE continues to expand its artificial intelligence applications across services and operations, including emerging domains such as agentic AI, AI-enabled cybersecurity solutions and collaborative innovation programmes, the certification provides a consistent framework enabling teams across the organisation to develop, deploy and monitor relevant AI applications with rigour. Notable initiatives including agentic AI integrations, the University of Sharjah AI Innovation Lab and AI-driven cybersecurity solutions such as NetSecure360 exemplify the breadth of the operator’s expanding AI ecosystem and underscore the critical importance of consistent governance as applications proliferate.
The achievement reinforces etisalat UAE’s ambition to become a leading AI-powered and enabling telecommunications operator whilst advancing the United Arab Emirates’ broader vision to lead in AI investment, capability development and the responsible deployment of artificial intelligence. By combining innovation with independently assessed governance frameworks, etisalat UAE strengthens the foundations for trusted AI-enabled services and responsible collaboration with customers, technology partners and stakeholders alike.
Source: WAM