etisalat UAE first MENA telco to gain ISO/IEC 42001 AI management cert

The Abu Dhabi-based operator has achieved accredited ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification, assessed independently by LRQA and accredited by UKAS.

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etisalat UAE has become the first telecom operator in the Middle East and North Africa to secure accredited certification to ISO/IEC 42001:2023, the international standard for AI management systems. The certification was awarded following an independent assessment by LRQA, a global assurance and certification body accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

The achievement signals a shift in how the Abu Dhabi-based carrier is approaching AI deployment. Rather than governing individual AI initiatives in isolation, etisalat UAE has built a structured AI Management System that sets requirements across accountability, risk and impact assessment, lifecycle controls, human oversight, transparency, performance evaluation and continual improvement.

The certification

ISO/IEC 42001:2023, published by the International Organisation for Standardisation and the International Electrotechnical Commission, is the first internationally ratified framework specifically designed for AI management systems. Its scope is broad: organisations that achieve certification must demonstrate repeatable processes for identifying AI-related risks, applying controls throughout the development and deployment lifecycle, and maintaining audit-ready governance documentation.

The certification process at etisalat UAE drew on teams spanning Technology and Information, AI Engineering, Business Excellence, and individual business use-case owners. That cross-functional scope matters: ISO/IEC 42001 is designed to embed AI governance at an organisational level rather than within a single department or product line.

Marwan Bin Shakar, Chief Technology Officer at etisalat UAE, said: "ISO/IEC 42001 provides a structured approach to managing AI risks, evaluating impact, and maintaining appropriate human oversight throughout the lifecycle. It enables us to advance AI at scale while applying consistent controls that support responsible innovation and stakeholder confidence."

Chief Information Officer Antonietta Mastroianni added that responsible AI requires "clear ownership, repeatable processes and the ability to monitor performance and risk over time," framing the certification as evidence of a systematic governance commitment rather than a one-time audit.

Market and regulatory context

The MENA telecommunications sector is under increasing pressure to demonstrate structured AI governance as operators roll out AI-powered network management, customer experience tools and cybersecurity products. etisalat UAE's own portfolio already includes agentic AI integrations, an AI Innovation Lab established with the University of Sharjah, and the AI-driven cybersecurity product NetSecure360.

The ISO/IEC 42001 standard is gaining traction as a baseline governance reference in parallel with, and sometimes preceding, mandatory regulatory regimes. The EU AI Act, which introduces risk-tiered requirements for AI systems sold or operated within the European Economic Area, has prompted a number of global vendors and carriers to pursue the standard as a credible pre-compliance posture. Although etisalat UAE operates primarily in the UAE and wider MENA region rather than under EU jurisdiction directly, multinational technology partners and enterprise customers with European operations increasingly expect documented AI governance from their suppliers.

The UAE's own AI regulatory landscape has been shaped by the National AI Strategy 2031 and guidance from the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office, both of which emphasise responsible deployment alongside capability development. A UKAS-accredited ISO/IEC 42001 certification provides a recognisable, internationally benchmarked signal for government and enterprise counterparties assessing AI supply chains.

Certification bodies including LRQA, Bureau Veritas and SGS have all launched ISO/IEC 42001 audit services since the standard's publication in late 2023. Demand is concentrated among large enterprises and regulated-sector operators for whom audit-ready governance documentation has become a procurement requirement. etisalat UAE's claim to be the first MENA telecom to achieve accredited certification gives it a near-term differentiation advantage in regional enterprise and government tenders, though that advantage will narrow as peers pursue the same standard over the next 12 to 18 months.

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