So that’s a wrap for the World Governments Summit in Dubai and many of its attendees have already flown northwest to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, which starts today. The reshuffling of the global order during Donald Trump’s second presidency continues apace and attendees at Munich will include US secretary of state Marco Rubio and vice-president JD Vance, who will be holding talks over a potential Ukraine-Russia peace deal.
Talking shop: Delegates at the World Governments Summit in Dubai Image: Getty Images
These gatherings, these arenas where quiet bilaterals and trilaterals can be easily convened, show no signs of losing their significance in the digital age. Indeed, for Dubai, there was a clear sense this year that the UAE can leverage its position to become an increasingly important place for global leaders in government and business to talk. The Gulf state is making the most of its soft-power credentials as a place where all are welcome to gather: Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán was in town and Elon Musk beamed in for a talk that ran from a common-sense desire to cut bureaucratic waste to the dystopian (we are heading for a world, he said, where 99 per cent of all intelligence will be artificial and a small cabal of clever people will control the machines).
Beaming in: Elon Musk addressing the conference Image: Getty Images
Look, this is not the Switzerland of the Middle East but it is a nation that tends to let others make bellicose statements. It also seems determined to dodge being caught up in anyone else’s problems: it’s at ease with its neighbours, even Iran, these days. And by putting $442m (€424m) into a port project, it has become a key investor in Somaliland, a country that remains unrecognised by any government.
Some people may still underestimate the influence and potential that the UAE has but this is a country that just gets things done. And in an age of soundbites, it’s also a nation investing in the art of diplomacy. And that’s to be welcomed.
Andrew Tuck is Monocle’s editor in chief. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.