AsianFin -- Baidu Inc.’s autonomous ride-hailing platform Apollo Go said it has received Dubai’s first-ever autonomous driving trial permit along with 50 test licenses from the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

The announcement came Wednesday at the Fourth Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport, where Apollo Go stood out as the only platform authorized to conduct open-road trials with its sixth-generation autonomous vehicles.

The approvals mark a milestone for Baidu’s global expansion, giving the Chinese tech giant a foothold in the Middle East as Dubai pushes ahead with its ambitious self-driving mobility strategy. The RTA has set a goal of transforming a quarter of all trips in the city to autonomous modes by 2030.