Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the World Governments Summit, affirmed that since its inception in 2013, the World Governments Summit has consolidated its position as an international incubator for partnerships, bringing together governments from around the world to share insights and exchange ideas aimed at shaping the future and strengthening government readiness for its changes and challenges.

This came during the opening of the Ambassadors’ Retreat 2026, the annual platform organised by the World Governments Summit Organization, which brought together representatives of more than 100 countries from around the world.

It included ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions in the UAE, in the presence of Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future and Vice Chair of the World Governments Summit, and Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Vice Chair of the World Governments Summit.

The event provided a purposeful dialogue aimed at expanding international cooperation and partnerships focused on shaping the future, and strengthening coordination with embassies and diplomatic missions in the United Arab Emirates, in preparation for the World Governments Summit in February 2027.

Mohammad Al Gergawi said that the Ambassadors’ Retreat represents a strategic platform for strengthening the Summit’s international partnerships, expanding dialogue with governments and decision-makers around the world, and connecting government experiences in ways that support countries’ responses to transformations.

He affirmed that the World Governments Summit focuses on stimulating broader international cooperation and strengthening future global momentum through an open space for partnership and dialogue that transforms knowledge and expertise into applicable solutions.

Mohammad Al Gergawi addressed the findings of the Global Ministers Survey 2026, which included 61 ministers and is conducted annually by the World Governments Summit in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to identify the priorities of ministers around the world, the challenges facing their governments, and their level of preparedness for the future.

He noted that the survey revealed that 79% of ministers expect the role of their governments to increase in the future, while 34% reported that their governments had fully embraced change.

The most significant challenges hindering the path of change were a lack of funding, at 36%; a shortage of competencies and skills, at 18%; and cybersecurity challenges, at 16%.

Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Vice Chair of the World Governments Summit, presented to the ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions an overview of the World Governments Summit 2027, its key topics, themes, and main and accompanying events.

He also addressed the importance of strengthening cooperation and the pivotal role of ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions in the UAE in ensuring the best possible participation of delegations from friendly governments in the Summit’s proceedings.

A session titled “How Are Governments Reshaping the Concept of Access to the Future?” discussed the concept of “access” in an era of accelerating artificial intelligence, energy transition, and changes in the structure of trade, and what countries need to do to secure it.

The session featured Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Chairman of Dubai Chambers; Maria Belovas, Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the United Arab Emirates; and Martina A. Strong, President of Central Europe and the Middle East at Bechtel.

The speakers discussed the ‘ACCESS’ framework, which is built around six pillars: access to artificial intelligence, including agentic AI, computing, data, and technical talent as a new infrastructure of power; access to culture, through a focus on soft power, narrative, and cultural exchange in a fragmented world; access to capital, through investment and financing flows and the conditions for accessing the financing needed to build the future; access to the economy, through trade architecture, market access, and economic partnerships; access to supply, including logistics, trade, energy, and critical mineral supply chains that keep countries functioning; and access to stability, including water, food, and data resilience as a foundation for secure societies and sustainable growth.

The Ambassadors’ Retreat, organised annually by the World Governments Summit Organization, represents one of its recurring initiatives within the framework of its global role and mission to provide a platform that stimulates partnerships and supports the shaping of the future. It forms part of the Organization’s initiatives focused on major global trends and on engaging stakeholders across various sectors in shaping future pathways for the fields most closely connected to people’s lives and the future of societies.