Daily Times

World leaders converged in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the World Government Summit (WGS) from February 10 – 13, 2019. Considered as a knowledge exchange between government officials, it brought to a single platform policy-makers and thought leaders to pledge new frontiers of partnerships, resolve the socio-economic crisis, create policies and address a plethora of issues facing humanity.

Although over 4000 leaders from various sectors from over 140 countries attended the World Government Summit, the Summit’s importance with respect to Pakistan was Prime Minister Imran Khan’s meeting with Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, and Chairwoman, International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the sidelines of the Summit. Lagarde assured the PM that the IMF will assist Pakistan. She said, “I also highlighted that decisive policies and a strong package of economic reforms would enable Pakistan to restore the resilience of its economy and lay the foundations for stronger and more inclusive growth.”

The UAE hosted the Summit’s seventh edition, with the first held in 2013. Organized by the office of the Prime Minister of the UAE, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the WGS 2019 brought to the UAE leaders from the government, public offices, academics, researchers, nobel laureates, corporate executives, entrepreneurs and top experts from media, education, health, technology, trade, business, media, politics, and finance.

The three-day event showcased speeches from the best in their field who called on the world to usher in an era of tolerance, and discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) will change jobs for humans, further outlining the challenges facing the many regions of the world.

Lagarde assured the PM that the IMF will assist Pakistan. She said, “I also highlighted that decisive policies and a strong package of economic reforms would enable Pakistan to restore the resilience of its economy and lay the foundations for stronger and more inclusive growth.”

One of the highlights of the WGS has been the Best Minister award, awarded to a minister for displaying excellence in the government sector and bringing exceptional reforms. The 2019, best Minister award was given to Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz, Public Health Minister, Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan by the Prime Minister of the UAE.

Another highlight of the WGS 2019, was Pope Francis’ visit to the UAE to become the first leader of the Roman Catholic Church to visit the Arabian Peninsula. This visit is expected to bolster interfaith dialogue, interreligious harmony, and bridge the gap between the Arabian Peninsula with Europe. However, it is yet to be seen how the fundamental factors of Arab will respond to this change. With the underlying theme of Shaping the future of Governments, the WGS 2019 presented through talks, panel discussions and speeches an agenda, and a modus operandi for the future governments of the world.

The Summit disseminated the best practices followed by leaders from various sectors worldwide and through discussions deliberated upon solutions backed using the miracles of modern science and advancements in technology. With artificial intelligence a key point discussed at the WGS 2019, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE, delivered an address through hologram technology.

It is expected that such technology would be used in the future at the WGS. During his Tweets regarding the WGS, Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan wrote, “Dubai is a model of tolerance and coexistence, where more than 220 different nationalities live in peace” and “Discussion on the future of our cities begins from Dubai as many cities around the world view the Emirate as a city of the future” Another imperative discussion was to prepare the youth and students for jobs that do not exist. According to Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Chairman of the WGS and Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, UAE, said, “45 percent of jobs in the future will change. As for the jobs that require creativity and creation of content, like design, arts, music, these are the jobs based on imagination and these are the jobs that will create a niche for human beings” He also urged the significance of teaching creativity to students in the coming age of imagination.

The Prime Minister of UAE presented the four principles that constitute Dubai Municipality’s new corporate identity: competitiveness, innovation, responsibility, and participation. Klaus Schwab, Founder, World Economic Forum, called for the world to move away from crisis management to constructive management in the age of Globalization 4.0. The work of philanthropists was also acknowledged while Christine Lagarde speculated, “Women’s jobs will suffer most as AI takes hold”. Wang Zhigang, China’s Minister of Science and Technology said, “Every country has the right to participate in global tech-enabled governance, focused on peace, security, transparency, and inclusiveness. While Harrison Ford, US actor and conservationist spoke on climate change and said, “The earth and seas are the legacy we leave our children. In 10 years, it may be too late.” It is crucial for world leaders attending the WGS 2019 to return to their countries with the gist of these discussions to implement in their respective sectors policies, to add value and growth.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist

Published in Daily Times, February 14^th 2019.