Touchdown Middle East 2026 will debut in Abu Dhabi, attracting over 1,500 attendees and showcasing the UAE's digital infrastructure advancements.
KEZAD Group will host Touchdown Middle East 2026 in Abu Dhabi, marking the first time the regional data centre conference will be held in the UAE, reported a press release.
The event, organised by the Gulf Data Centre Association, will take place on 18–19 November at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers. It follows three years in Bahrain and is expected to draw more than 1,500 visitors, 400 companies, 70 speakers, and participants from over 30 countries.
Abdullah Al Hameli, chief executive of AD Ports Group's Economic Cities & Free Zones Cluster, stated that hosting the conference highlights Abu Dhabi's growing role in digital infrastructure. He noted that data centres are central to AI adoption, cloud services, manufacturing, and secure trade.
The programme will include keynote sessions, panels, and networking opportunities, covering topics such as power supply, connectivity, regulation, investment, AI demand, cloud growth, and sustainability. Henry Sutton, director of the Gulf Data Centre Association, remarked that moving the event to Abu Dhabi is an important step for the industry and praised KEZAD as the main sponsor.
Abu Dhabi has committed AED13 billion to digital transformation under its Digital Strategy 2025–2027, targeting sovereign cloud adoption, automation of government processes, and more than 200 AI-led solutions. The Emirate is also developing Stargate UAE, a 1GW compute cluster, with 200MW due online in 2026.
Rising demand for AI, cloud computing, and high-capacity connectivity is driving regional investment in digital infrastructure. KEZAD Group will use the conference to promote collaboration between industrial zones, logistics, energy, and real estate in support of future data centre growth.
