UAE Cyber Security Council Unveils First National Lab To Certify AI Models And Agents

The UAE Cyber Security Council, in partnership with UAE-based technology company Open Innovation AI, American multinational technology company Cisco, and the Abu Dhabi-based information and communications technology (ICT) provider Emircom, have launched the National AI Test and Validation Lab, a first-of-its-kind facility to help UAE government entities and private sector organizations test, validate, and certify AI models, agents, and applications for security, safety, and trustworthiness.

Overseen by the UAE Cyber Security Council, the Lab—which is already operational—will support both public and private sector entities across industries such as financial services, healthcare, energy, and telecommunications with testing, validating, and certifying artificial intelligence (AI) models, agents, and applications for security, safety, and trust. It will also be accessible to UAE-based AI developers looking to certify that their models and agents meet national standards before entering the market.

The Lab was unveiled at the fifth edition of Make it in The Emirates, an annual event hosted by the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Culture, Abu Dhabi Investment Office, and Abu Dhabi-owned diversified energy group ADNOC, which aims to accelerate industrial growth and manufacturing in the UAE.

In a statement, HE Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government and Chairman of the UAE Cyber Security Council, said, “AI is becoming part of the fabric of government services, critical infrastructure, and everyday life in the UAE. The National AI Test and Validation Lab offers the country a sovereign capability to ensure that every AI model and every AI agent deployed in our economy is secure, trustworthy, and aligned with our national policies. This is how we turn the UAE's ambition to lead in AI into concrete, verifiable assurance for our citizens.” 

Fady Younes, Managing Director for Cybersecurity at Cisco for the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Romania, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, added, “In the AI era, security cannot be an afterthought; it must be embedded within all infrastructure. Our collaboration with the UAE Cyber Security Council and Open Innovation AI marks a pivotal moment in securing the future of the UAE’s digital economy. By combining our secure, AI-ready infrastructure with the UAE’s proactive regulatory vision, we are creating a global blueprint for an AI ecosystem that is resilient by design, protected at scale, and inherently trustworthy.”  

Dr. Abed Benaichouche, CEO, Open Innovation AI, commented, “Securing AI cannot be a one-time exercise; models evolve, agents act autonomously, and new attack techniques emerge every week. With the UAE Cyber Security Council and Cisco, we are industrializing AI security: continuously red-teaming, testing, and certifying AI systems at a scale that matches how fast they are being deployed. We expect the Lab to analyze tens to hundreds of thousands of agents per year, and we are proud to put our platform at the service of the UAE's national mission.” 

The Lab combines Cisco’s AI-ready infrastructure, powered by NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units, the Open Innovation Cluster Manager for managing end-to-end AI workloads, and integrated security solutions from both Cisco and Open Innovation AI that support ongoing testing and red-teaming. It provides end-to-end assessment to ensure AI systems are secure, resilient, and compliant, covering model robustness, threat detection, data integrity, supply chain security, and agent risks. AI systems that meet these criteria will receive a national certification mark, assuring regulators, operators, and the public of their security and validity.  

Pictured in the lead image is a scene from the launch of the National AI Test and Validation Lab at Make it in The Emirates event. Image courtesy Make it in The Emirates.