Dubai: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the keynote speaker at the sixth World Government Summit which will kick off on February 11, bringing together more than 4,000 participants from 140 countries.
Announcing the summit agenda on Wednesday, Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, said India will be the guest country this year, with honorary guests from India coming in to showcase the country’s emerging economic growth, highlight valuable knowledge, skills, and elaborate on the country’s unique culture.
Announcing the agenda of the three-day summit, during which more than 150 speakers will address 120 key sessions, Al Gergawi said India carries exceptional experiences worthy of being global models to follow.
“The World Government Summit has transformed into the largest platform for shaping future governments and a meeting point between international organisations and governments from around the world,” said Al Gergawi who is also the chairman of the World Government Summit.
Al Gergawi added that India’s presence at the summit, with its high-level delegation, is a key part of the summit’s annual gathering.
“India has played a great role in space, IT, digital revolution and in producing the best human resources from around the world. We expect India to achieve a great economic and development momentum and be on a par with the world’s top countries,” he said.
Al Gergawi said the event this year will bring together hundreds of governments and international organisations on the leading global platform to share knowledge and experiences in the efforts to improve government work and offer better services to help serve billions of people around the world.
Artificial intelligence
New this year will be the Global Forum on the Governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Space Settlement Forum, and the first international report on global government policies and happiness, with contribution from over 60 experts in the science of happiness.
Al Gergawi also announced that there will be 20 international global reports about governments and the launch of the first road map that shows what governments will look like in the future.
The agenda and topics for this edition will look at lifetime education and learning, future of health, biotechnology, innovation, science, climate, and other key sectors.
He mentioned the participation of 16 international organisations including the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, Unesco, World Bank, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and World Economic Forum.
Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first such minister, said the forum on AI during the summit will allow new experiences to be shared and will see more than 100 prominent figures in AI draw a road map on how AI can improve government procedures.
“Investing in the latest technologies and tools of artificial intelligence will help enhance governments’ work and help us analyse happiness in societies. Some governments look at AI as a challenge but this challenge can turn into opportunities and legislative framework to ensure the advancement of humanity,” he said.
Arab Youth Pioneers
Shamma Suhail Faris Al Mazroui, Minister of State for Youth, said this year the summit will see the launch of another initiative called the Arab Youth Pioneers, which will appreciate the achievements of young leaders and will include workshops and sessions to be held for youth.
“More than 100 Arab Youth Pioneers will exchange their experiences and success stories in providing thousands of job opportunities for people in their countries,” she said.
From her part, Sara Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, said the Space Settlement Forum will explore the challenges and the viability of human settlement on Mars.
Meanwhile, Uhoud Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness and vice-chairman of the Organising Committee of the World Government Summit, said building on the success of last year’s Global Dialogue for Happiness, this year the forum will focus on government policies promoting happiness in societies.
“The goal of the forum this year will be to define happiness and the importance of happiness on the government agenda. There will be 25 sessions and more than 500 thinkers, scientists and experts joining us,” she said.
She added that the topics this year will shed light on government policies that work to increase happiness and reduce sadness. “We want to present tools that governments can use to integrate this type of thinking when talking about government policies. The UAE is a pioneer in government policies and happiness and launching first guide to assess happiness.”
Held alongside the summit once again will be the climate change forum which will be shedding light on the impact of climate change on humanity and the threat of natural disasters as a result of this phenomenon, said Dr Thani Ahmad Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment.
“There will be three themes at the forum. We will discuss climate change and how it will affect people and natural disasters, and how to prepare infrastructure for them. And also, we will present world reports that show the destruction and losses as a result of natural disasters,” he said.
The global event will see the presentation of the Best Minister in the World Award, Best Government Innovation, and Best Teacher Award.
