Khaleej Times

No going back from globalisat­ion

- Waheed Abbas Waheed Abbas — waheedabba­s@khaleejtim­es.com — waheedabba­s@khaleejtim­es.com

dubai — Technologi­cal transforma­tion can improve productivi­ty of the UAE public sector by at least 20 per cent, said Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s second Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils in Dubai on Sunday, Gergawi said the UAE will remain an open laboratory for the future.

“The UAE is first to launch a legislativ­e lab to test modern technologi­es in order to formulate legislatio­n related to 3D printing, genomics and AI, etc.”

He noted that improved and updated legislatio­n can contribute $4 trillion in value to the global economic output.

“Today, we see that some states have started to distance themselves from globalisat­ion. But we believe that the world has reached a point of no return from globalisat­ion — globalisat­ion of knowledge, data, talent and ideas. Thanks to globalisat­ion, the entire global economy has changed. Without globalisat­ion, we would not have seen trillion-dollar companies such as Apple and Amazon sharing knowledge with the DUBAI — The growing environmen­t and climate change challenges have begun to affect people in the Middle East region in their dayto-day lives, analysts said at the World Economic Forum in Dubai on Sunday.

Mirek Dusek, deputy head of geopolitic­al and regional agendas, World Economic Forum, said the recent incidents of water shortage in Iraq’s Basra is one of the examples that this region is being increasing­ly exposed to environmen­t and climate change.

“We’re seeing the environmen­t affecting daily lives in the region

world,” Gergawi said during the opening address on Sunday.

He cautioned that no countries will be able to shut their doors to informatio­n and knowledge. “The future belongs to those who can imagine it, shape it and implement it. In today’s world, government­s cannot create the future singularly; it is important to involve everyone from the private sector to youth, internatio­nal partners and others in creating policies,” he added. such as in Basra. Its impact was felt even in elections. We looked at the Mediterran­ean ecosystem and how it affects Egypt,” Dusek said during the opening press conference of the third Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils, bringing together nearly 700 experts from around the world.

Be it the UAE, Egypt, Morocco or any other country in the region, Dusek said the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a reality for every country and every society in the region.

He said it is imperative to be on the front foot to make sure that there is a positive society and it plays a positive role.

Stephan Mergenthal­er, head

The Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils brings together nearly 700 experts from a range of discipline­s. Comprising senior politician­s and public figures, leaders from business, civil society, academia and the arts, their role at the meeting is to generate new ideas and creative solutions aimed at solving the most critical challenges.

During the inaugural address, Børge Brende, president of the of knowledge networks at the World Economic Forum, said the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution was discussed in Dubai at this meeting 3 years ago. This inspired a global conversati­on and led to the creation of a worldwide network of Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution aimed at designing the protocols and values necessary to ensure new technology serves humanity rather than threatens it.

“Our goal for this year is just as ambitious: we want to find radical new ideas for shaping a new global architectu­re to future proof the economy, the planet and our societies,” he said. World Economic Forum, said the global GDP has doubled since 1990, but further global integratio­n, while inevitable, must be accompanie­d by structural reforms that enable greater internatio­nal cooperatio­n as well as policies that support more inclusive and sustainabl­e societies.

“Globalisat­ion cannot be stopped, but it can be improved. It should be more inclusive, sustainabl­e and job-creating. We — Photos by Dhes Handumon

The world has reached a point of no return from globalisat­ion — globalisat­ion of knowledge, data, talent and ideas

Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future

need to stop seeing trade as a weapon but instead see it as a strong, positive force for inclusive, poverty-eradicatin­g growth,” he said.

“Globalisat­ion’s future is no longer about physical trade. It is about knowledge, informatio­n and technology. Digital trade already accounts for 12 per cent of internatio­nal trade and data flows are predicted to increase another fivefold by 2022. The result will inevitably be not less globalisat­ion but more, different globalisat­ion,” he continued.

In a special televised session to mark the beginning of the meeting, Miroslav Lajcak, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, told participan­ts that any global architectu­re in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution needed to be shaped by greater cooperatio­n between nations.

 ??  ?? Oliver Cann, head of media content, WEF; Saadia Zahidi, MD, head of social and economic agendas, WEF; Stephan Mergenthal­er; and Mirek Dusek address a press meet at the annual meeting of the Global Future Councils in Dubai on Sunday; Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi and Børge Brende speak at the event.
Oliver Cann, head of media content, WEF; Saadia Zahidi, MD, head of social and economic agendas, WEF; Stephan Mergenthal­er; and Mirek Dusek address a press meet at the annual meeting of the Global Future Councils in Dubai on Sunday; Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi and Børge Brende speak at the event.
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