Government Summit 2014 Kicks off in Dubai, 3500 Eminent Figures Participate

Under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum – Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; the Government Summit 2014 has just started today in Dubai to be from February 10-12.

The world’s most respected government and business leaders, decision makers, executives and experts will gather for the 2nd annual UAE Government Summit.
More than 60 international speakers will lead comprehensive and insightful sessions on ways to shape the future of government services that meet and exceed the expectations of citizens and promote their happiness.
The Summit strengthens international cooperation between public and private sectors.
“The Government Summit has underlined its global credentials by hosting an elite line-up of international speakers including high-level government officials and key decision-makers, who will lead an interactive discussion agenda to further enhance government services around the world,” said Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, and Head of the Organising Committee for the Government Summit.

More than 3500 prominent figures are attending the Summit including, global-wide officials, leaders, decision makers, experts and executive directors.

Al Gergawi said the Summit, which is the largest of its kind in the world, reflects the vision of Sheikh Mohammed on the future of government services which leverages the power of advanced technology and smart services, in addition to strengthening closer collaboration between the public and private sector to deliver excellence in government service delivery, and achieve the UAE Vision 2021.

On the first day of the Summit, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, will launch the “Dubai Government 2021” initiative. Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman, will launch the development strategy of Ajman on the third day of the Summit.

Also on the first day, Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, will address a key session on “exceptional leadership”. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, will address the main session on the second day on “partnership and innovation in delivering government services.”

Professor Klaus Schwab, president and founder of the World Economic Forum will deliver the keynote speech at the opening of the Summit. William Danvers, Deputy Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, will also deliver a keynote address on the same day.

The Summit’s technology partnerships reflect the level of commitment demonstrated by these global giants, and highlight the key role that the private sector can play in advancing innovation and creativity in government services, making them more customer-centric, especially in line with the transformation towards m-government smart services.

Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President  at EMC Turkey, Eastern Europe, Africa and Middle East said: “In view of the direction of UAE leadership to drive the different government agencies towards m-Government services, we are proud to sponsor the Government Summit 2014 and contribute to the transformation of the UAE government towards mobile services. We believe Mobility is one of the key trends that are charging the dynamics of IT and we are confident that our solutions in this space will help government organizations transform and create the agility needed for the new applications and new customer experiences.”

Sam Alkharrat, Managing Director at SAP MENA, said:“These are exciting times in the UAE. M-government initiatives are picking up pace, smart city plans are set to deliver new and increasingly sustainable standards of living, and Expo 2020 is accelerating investment and innovation across the board. Changes of this magnitude can only take place with strong leadership and technological vision, and the UAE is already preparing to reinvent itself through scaling up its adoption and application of everything from mobility, cloud and in-memory computing to big data and beyond. At SAP, we are proud to work together with the government to transform vision in these areas into reality, and help shape a better future for businesses, organisations and individuals alike.”

Samer Abu Ltaif, Microsoft Gulf Regional General Manager said : “Microsoft is proud to be participating in the upcoming Government Summit in UAE as we believe there is great potential for global knowledge exchange through this platform. At Microsoft, we know that technology has the ability to improve the quality of life, making the day-to-day tasks of citizens easier and thus contributing to their overall well-being which is the ultimate aim of government modernization. Microsoft is committed to serving the vision and plan of the leadership to support this modernization through providing solutions to build innovative applications in-line with the Mobile Government Initiative activated in 2013..”

The 2014 Government Summit will bring together government and business leaders, and subject matter experts, to collaborate on new and innovative ways to make governments around the world even more responsive and accessible to the people they serve.