Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gargawi, Minister for Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the World Government Summit, delivered the opening address at the fourth edition that opened today under the overarching theme, "Shaping Future Governments".

Al Gargawi said that this year’s summit has originated from the grand vision and wise leadership of the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who leads the nation to emerge as an international centre of knowledge, a real platform for positive change in the world.

He added that the summit is held under the patronage and direct supervision of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who believes that forward-looking approach and preparedness for new developments and exploration of what the coming years may have in store are not merely complementary works for governments but the most important basics, as governments that are not prepared for the future would certainly waste wealth, future and years of time of many generations to come.

Al Gargawi welcomed the official delegations from participating countries and international organisations, including the United Nations, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Economic Forum, as well as the academics, media, experts and private sector leaders in attendance at the summit.

He said that the summit's fourth edition has undergone major changes in its name, content, philosophy, method of sessions and the mechanisms of exchange of knowledge across different platforms, explaining that the most important change is its transformation from an annual event to an international institution simply because an annual event is just not enough to shape the future as it requires intense daily efforts.

"Today we begin the proceedings of the summit, but it will not end after three days," he said. "We will continue to communicate with you and the march of research and knowledge will continue to move forward. The meetings and exchange of experiences will continue throughout the year, because we always wanted to be a part of the future, influencing it and not getting influenced by it, while keeping abreast of the changes and not being resistant to them," he added.

The minister went on to say that human beings will always pursue happiness, therefore, the message of all governments should be the happiness of humanity. "This is the vision we have set out for our government in UAE, and this is what Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has identified as an indicator of the performance of all our works and our projects," he added.

The World Government Summit has convened over 3,000 personalities from 125 countries. The summit seeks to explore more than 70 topical issues through the participation of world leaders, ministers, decision makers, CEOs, innovators, officials, experts, entrepreneurs, academics, and university students. A number of initiatives, reports and studies will also be launched during the three-day summit and throughout the year. World Government Summit 2016 is set to conclude on February 10th at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.