jordan pulse -

By Prof. Khalid Wassef Al-Wazani
Professor of Economics and Public Policy
Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government
In its thirteenth global edition, and with a high-level international presence exceeding 6,000 participants from nearly 150 countries, the Global Government Summit in Dubai has once again asserted itself—not as a ceremonial gathering defined by political protocol or open-ended debate, but as a global platform for reading and shaping the indicators of transformation and emerging directions of the anticipated world order.
GWS 2026 stands out as one of the most candid global summits in addressing the early signals and requirements of engaging with a global economy that is not only facing growth challenges but is also confronting a profound crisis in optimal models of governance, leadership, and prudent public management. In a world crowded with overlapping crises across many regions, including the Arab world, open and frank dialogue has become a rare currency. Searching for it is now a responsibility borne by leadership and states that genuinely believe in human well-being, environmental sustainability, resource continuity, freedom of dialogue, intellectual exchange, and global collective action. The Global Government Summit embodies all of this—as a genuine global forum, an international platform, and a rare space for constructive engagement. The Summit is no longer merely a global event attended by heads of state and government, international organizations, financial institutions, global corporate leaders, and experts in economics and technology. It has evolved into a qualitative manifestation of a growing global awareness that the fundamental question—how are states governed? —has become a first-order economic question. Economic interests now precede almost every geopolitical consideration across regions and continents.
Amid the launch of what can be described as the first global trade war, and the emergence of major agreements and “the mother of all deals,” it has become increasingly clear that reliance on classical economic tools alone is no longer sufficient. What the Global Government Summit put forward is a core idea centered on the transformation of governance into a factor of production. Weak governance is no longer merely an administrative flaw; it has become a massive economic cost that states will pay through lower growth, diminished stability, and weakened competitiveness.
The Summit’s discussions moved beyond the management of day-to-day crises and smartly shifted toward deeper analytical levels, focusing on how to design governments capable of operating in a VUCA world—marked by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Central to these discussions was how decisions should be made amid accelerating shocks and intertwined crises, and how governments can transform from heavy bureaucratic structures into agile platforms capable of carrying the economy, protecting its resources, and empowering human capital, entrepreneurs, and business leaders simultaneously. Crucially, these issues were not presented as abstract theorizing, but as preconditions for achieving genuine and sustainable growth.
As in previous editions, artificial intelligence occupied a central position—no longer as a set of technologies to be adopted, but as a new economic infrastructure that supports and enhances government performance. The core message from the Summit’s sessions was unequivocal: states must integrate AI into the heart of public policy and decision-making if they are to secure, and even impose, their position within the emerging global economic order. Falling behind in this domain will translate into economic, social, and political delays. AI is no longer about improving service delivery alone; it has become a defining tool in shaping the state’s role in managing both the economy and society.
Davos, which concluded its annual meeting only recently, focused primarily on diagnosing the major risks threatening the global economy, slowing growth, rising geopolitical fragmentation, disruptions to international trade, and technological risks. The Global Government Summit, however, went a step further: it analyzed, debated, and reimagined the optimal model of governance capable of dealing with these very risks. Herein lies the difference in depth and methodology. Davos discussed the symptoms, while Dubai addressed the institutional roots and viable exit pathways.
The continued convening of the Global Government Summit in Dubai sends a clear geopolitical and economic message: the Arab region is not merely a passive recipient of global transformations but can be an active contributor to shaping their agenda. The UAE model—built on stability, agility, and bold adoption of technology—has offered a compelling example of how governments can become engines of growth rather than burdens upon it, even amid turbulent environments.
The central conclusion of the Global Government Summit is that the global economy is already entering a new phase, one in which old assumptions are receding, and where the nature of the state, the quality of governance, and the speed of decision-making are no less important than capital and technology. In a world engaged in global trade battles, the key question is no longer how to achieve growth, but how to secure resilience first—in order to make growth possible thereafter.

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Prof. Khalid W. Al Wazani