RIYADH: UAE’s Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, or Shurooq, is studying investment in the US, Australia and a number of Gulf and Arab countries, Emirates News Agency reported citing the CEO. Due to the food security sector’s importance, the authority also intends to enter sectors of fish farming and horizontal agriculture by attracting private investment, Marwan Al Sarkal added. This comes as Shurooq plans to expand the sustainable city of Sharjah, said Al Sarkal, stressing that the authority studies all accessible opportunities and proceeds with them after assessing the economic, environmental and social impact. “We are opening the door to investors and we have an interest in industries and robots, as Shurooq intends to enter into unexpected sectors,” said Al Sarkal. He explained that artificial intelligence represented the future revolution and this is what was witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The size of the authority’s investment portfolio is estimated at 12 billion dirhams ($3.27 billion), distributed over the real estate sector, which occupies the largest part, he said.