The World Governments Summit Organization has recently unveiled an expanded agenda for the upcoming 2025 edition, taking place in Dubai from February 11 to 13, under the theme “Shaping Future Governments.”
This year’s summit will explore major global transformations, focusing on the resulting opportunities and challenges across various sectors and key issues. Through inclusive dialogues, the World Governments Summit 2025 aims to foster the development of shared strategies and visions for enhanced government performance and stronger international cooperation, ultimately accelerating development and prosperity worldwide.
Over the past 12 years, the summit has become one of the world’s largest and most influential forums for governments. This year, the summit’s agenda features 21 forums covering six key themes including health transformation, governance and crisis mitigation.
“The rapid transformations unfolding around us portend a new world with its unique set of tools, challenges and opportunities. This demands that governments prioritize resilience and efficiency in a continuous race against time to ensure a future of sustainable progress and development for all, meeting the aspirations of generations to come,” stated Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Governments Summit.
Record international participation
The 2025 World Governments Summit anticipates record international participation, hosting over 30 heads of state and government, delegations from 140 governments and representatives from more than 80 international and regional organizations and global institutions. The summit will also convene prominent thought leaders, global experts and over 6,000 attendees.
Attendance has increased by over 50 percent compared to last year, representing the largest gathering in the summit’s history, with delegates from every continent and a wide range of sectors. The summit aims to be a unifying platform for governments worldwide, fostering economic, social, and governmental progress towards equitable development for all.
“The summit is committed to being the premier global platform to anticipate and explore the future, developing innovative solutions and forging international partnerships to benefit all communities based on scientifically and realistically grounded insights,” Al Gergawi added.
Key participants
The World Government Summit 2025 will feature a remarkable lineup of global leaders, influential thinkers and prominent figures across various sectors. Al Gergawi will deliver the opening address, setting the stage for a dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives.
Heads of state, including The Honourable Prabowo Subianto, President of Indonesia; H.E. Andrzej Duda, President of Poland; and H.E. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, President of Sri Lanka will also deliver keynote speeches.
The Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Željka Cvijanovic will participate in the Government Experience Exchange Forum alongside other heads of state.
High-level discussions will also feature heads of government, including H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait; H.E. Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of Laos; H.E. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, as well as H.E. Feliz Ulloa, Vice President of El Salvador.
Summit to feature most prominent tech leaders
The ever-evolving landscape of technology and its impact on governance will be addressed in a plenary session titled “Governments in the Intelligent Age,” featuring Professor Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum.
Further enriching the dialogue, the World Governments Summit 2025 will host a dialogue with Elon Musk and another with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
Alphabet CEO Sunder Pichai, Chairman of Alibaba Group Joseph Tsai and co-founder and CEO of Roblox David Baszuck will also be some of the names that will headline this year’s World Government Summit. The founder of Oracle Larry Ellison will also speak at the event.
Artificial intelligence and technology will be a major focus at this year’s summit. Al Gergawi said the discussions will be interesting due to the presence of tech experts from all over the world.
“We will be having tech leaders from both the East and the West and that is something very important. It will be very interesting to hear the perspective from tech leaders from China and tech leaders from the U.S. on their views on the future of that sector,” he said.
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Tourism, economy in focus
The World Governments Summit 2025’s agenda will tackle critical global challenges and opportunities. H.E. Andry Rajoelina, President of Madagascar will lead a session exploring the biggest challenge facing the future of tourism in a session titled “What’s Holding Back the Future of Tourism?”
Meanwhile, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, the Prime Minister of Sierra Leone will contribute to a session on “The New Economic Revolution: An African Perspective”.
A dedicated session on how economic alliances drive the future of global influence will host the Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Simsek, the Portuguese Minister of Economy Pedro Reis, and H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade.
Adding further depth to the World Governments Summit 2025’s program, Mohammad Yunus, Chief Advisor for the Interim Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, will engage in one of the plenary sessions.
Discussions on government effectiveness will also feature Jeremiah Manele, Prime Ministers of the Solomon Islands and Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica during a session titled “Preparedness vs. Response: How Effective Are Government Strategies”.
The summit’s final day will also host the Climate Change Forum, the World Health Forum and the World Government Lawmaking Forum.
