Mohammed bin Rashid: Trust is the currency of the future

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has shared the latest of his letters from his new book, arguing that the most important currency for the future is not water, artificial intelligence, energy or data, but trust.

In “A Letter on the Currency of the Future”, Sheikh Mohammed recounts a discussion with friends and officials about what the world’s most valuable resource will be in the years ahead.

Some argued for water, pointing to growing scarcity and conflict over supplies. Others chose artificial intelligence, which is reshaping economies and everyday life. A third group said energy, without which AI and much of the technology of the future cannot operate.

Sheikh Mohammed’s answer was different.

“The currency we are betting on is trust,” he wrote.

He argued that people’s trust in the UAE is what attracts investors and talent, builds international partnerships and gives the country access to technology, capital and expertise.

Trust, he wrote, is increasingly scarce, and that scarcity makes it more valuable.

The letter is part of The Letters, the second part of Sheikh Mohammed’s Lessons from Life. The book contains 26 letters addressed to his family, government teams, Emiratis, young people and the wider world, drawing on nearly six decades of public service.

Sheikh Mohammed also pointed to declining confidence in governments around the world. The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer found trust in government at 53 per cent across the 28 markets it surveyed. The UAE, together with China, ranked first on Edelman’s broader Trust Index, which measures confidence across government, business, media and non-governmental organisations.

He also cited an OECD survey of 30 countries in which 39 per cent of respondents reported high or moderately high trust in their national government.

But the letter goes beyond rankings and statistics. Sheikh Mohammed argues that economic stability begins in people’s minds: markets falter when investor confidence breaks, laws work when people trust that they apply equally, and societies respond more effectively to crises when citizens believe their government is acting in their interests.

He described trust as an asset built slowly through consistent laws, respect for people and a record of delivery, a reserve governments can draw on when crises arrive.

“Trust is a covenant between us and the people,” he wrote. “And we are a people who do not break our word.”

During a gathering with a group of friends and officials, someone asked:

What is the currency of the future, the one we should be betting on?

The answers varied.

One person said water would be the currency of the future because conflict over it had doubled in just three years. It is often said that the next world war could be fought over water. Its scarcity, and humanity’s need for it, make it a currency of the future. Betting on water, he argued, is betting on a future that is virtually guaranteed.

Another said: Not water, but artificial intelligence.

AI will open new horizons for humanity and change the way people live. The world’s biggest companies by market capitalisation are AI companies.

Machines will enter every part of our lives. Artificial intelligence will be the oil of the future, an inexhaustible currency. Betting on it is the real bet on the future.

A third person said: No, it is energy.

Energy is what powers artificial intelligence, and the only thing that will ultimately limit AI’s development is the amount of energy available to it.

Energy, in all its forms, is the oil of the future. Whoever controls energy will control the future.

They turned to me and asked what I thought.

I told them: The currency we are betting on is not water, energy, artificial intelligence or data, important though all of them are.

The currency we are betting on is trust.

People’s trust in our country is the currency of the future.

It is that trust that will bring investors and AI talent to us. It will bring us global partners in energy. It will give us access to the best technologies and investments in water.

Trust is a scarce currency these days, and its scarcity gives it enormous value.

If we lose it, we lose the most important national asset we possess.

According to a report by Edelman, the New York-based firm that measures public trust in institutions, global trust in government stood at just 53 per cent.

Another report by the OECD put trust in national governments across 30 countries at only 39 per cent.

Incidentally, the UAE topped Edelman’s Trust Index in 2026.

Life has taught me that economic stability usually begins in the human mind.

Financial markets do not suddenly collapse because the numbers fall. Investor sentiment and confidence collapse first.

Trust is what makes people respect the law, because everyone knows it applies to everyone.

Trust is what gives news credibility, because people know their government will not lie to them.

Trust is what keeps a market stable, because investors know the government is on their side.

Trust is what makes people follow instructions in times of crisis, because they believe the purpose is to protect their safety and wellbeing.

Lose trust, and you lose all of that.

There is a saying attributed to Confucius from around 2,500 years ago: government needs three things, food, arms and the trust of the people. If a ruler is forced to give one up, he should give up arms first, then food. But without trust, a state cannot stand.

Some people make the mistake of believing that trust is the result of economic growth and financial stability.

The opposite is true.

Trust comes first. It is trust that creates prosperity, growth and economic stability.

Trust is earned over many years of work and effort, through stable laws, respect for people and the legitimacy that comes from delivering results.

Over time, that builds up a vast reserve of trust with the public, a reserve governments can draw on in times of crisis.

People then become partners in managing crises and confronting challenges because they trust that the crisis is temporary and stability is enduring.

Trust is a covenant between us and the people. And we are a people who do not break our word.

In an unusual comment, an official from a major country criticised his own citizens living in the UAE.

He said: We went to the trouble of sending evacuation aircraft for them during the recent confrontation between the United States and Iran, but the planes returned empty. Eventually, they had to cancel the evacuation plans.

What makes people entrust you with their own safety, their families, their children and their money during a war, and refuse to return to their own countries?

It is the trust we have worked to build over 50 years.

It is the promise between us and them that we will protect them.

It is their confidence that stability will return, that the economy is solid and strong, and that the future remains full of opportunity.

Trust, thank God, is a way of life in our country.

We trust in our Lord and place our faith in Him, knowing that all goodness is in His hands.

We trust the future.

We are always optimistic that what lies ahead will be better.

People trust us and the officials in government, and those officials trust their teams.

And as I have said before:

The real story is not about resources, my friend. It is about mindset, the mindset with which we live and the mindset with which we run our country.

And the best is yet to come.