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Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future, stated that the Annual Meetings of the UAE Government will remain active throughout the year and that all teams will intensify their joint efforts to promote the outcomes of the Annual Meetings.

In the opening session of the second day of the Annual Meetings, Al Gergawi said that "the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum and the founding fathers of the UAE were the first generation of future designers and that their visions have laid the foundation of today’s progress and development.

" He added that that the third edition of the Annual Meetings of the UAE Government represented a comprehensive national and governmental workshop bringing together 500 government leaders who worked together to develop future initiatives. Al Gergawi said: "we live in a world of accelerating change where that role of the private sector, media and research sector becomes increasingly important in the global shifts".

During the session, H.E. raised a number of key questions that need to be answered while designing the future of the coming few decades, including: Will today’s governments work in the next fifty years? Will our structures keep pace with the rapid change and our leadership’s ambitions? Will our government culture remain competitive in the future? He highlighted three new trends in future government work that should be the foundation for future research and discussions.

The first trend is changing governments’ role from a service provider to an enhancer, observer and enabler of various sectors. Governments should act as a platform for leading change rather than a platform for service provision, as furnishing sustainable high-quality service will be a part of a comprehensive makeover of the whole system.

Through this new approach, the government will act as a platform that connects the service provider to its customers, and turn from data storage to data management by building long-term smart partnerships with organizations capable of managing and developing the future.

The second trend is maintaining competitiveness through establishing mega champions capable of going beyond our geographical boundaries in all sectors. This is of vital importance as we are witnessing the formation of major blocs around the world dominated by technology, banking, media champions among others.

Hence, establishing large entities, with high financial solvency, capable of competing nationally, regionally and globally is the fastest way to maintain our competitiveness, reduce costs, and support our national economy.

The third trend is focusing on the principle behind the UAE’s leading position and economic strength, namely, consolidating its role as an open platform for entrepreneurship, creativity, talent and investments without barriers or restrictions.

The idea of ​​openness to the outside world was the greatest principle through which we were capable of enhancing our superiority, competitiveness and position as a global economic hub. Al Gergawi posed an important question on how to develop this approach over the next 50 years. He highlighted that the UAE benefited from investments and talent, and that sustaining its superiority requires expanding the pool of talents and investments.

The key lies in making best use of talents worldwide and moving from the concept of a geographically-bound economy to a transnational participatory global economy. The minister added that the largest international companies no more rely on natural resource, but heavily depend on participatory economy.

The same applies to countries, if we can turn the UAE into a global participatory platform that can benefit from the resources and talents of people wherever they are, we will be able to achieve major economic leaps.

The answer to this question is to open our economic borders and expand them beyond our geographical boundaries. "We need to establish a participatory economy for three billion people, with the UAE as its core, hub, headquarters, and platform that embraces hundreds of millions of subscribers, shareholders and investors.

This will enable us to reach a new concept of openness, make the most of people’s potential no matter where they are, and leverage all resources to serve future generations" he concluded.