Influence is being reconfigured around the world; in the Gulf, it is being actively reshaped. As energy, capital and technology converge, the region is emerging as a global connector, linking markets and systems globally.
Reuters NEXT Gulf convenes leaders in Abu Dhabi at a moment of accelerating change, as diversification gathers pace and new industries scale beyond oil. From financial innovation and AI deployment to climate pressures and geopolitical realignment, the region faces a defining test: converting ambition into execution.
Powered by Reuters’ global newsroom, the summit delivers trusted intelligence that connects these shifting trajectories of influence into one strategic view.
Join us where the Gulf’s growing influence is translated into global impact.
This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.
The Gulf’s ambition to become a pivotal “middle power” is being stress-tested in real time. Backed by sovereign wealth and an ambitious trade policy, the region is targeting high-growth sectors - from AI and data centres to clean energy and advanced manufacturing – as it focuses on both deepening existing alliances and growing new ones. However, the recent disruption in global travel and trade has hit the very arteries the region's trade model depends upon and Gulf states face trade-offs between security imperatives and development ambitions. We discuss how Gulf trade alliances, investment corridors and diversification strategies must evolve - and which sectors and partnerships will define the decade ahead.
This session is in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.
Gulf companies are confronting a new reality with geopolitical disruption an ongoing cost of doing business. Airspace closures, threats to energy infrastructure, supply chain bottlenecks, and higher insurance and shipping costs are exposing vulnerabilities. Energy, aviation, logistics, consumer goods and risk management leaders examine how businesses are adapting to a more volatile operating environment. From supply chains and transport routes to infrastructure security and investment planning, how can companies balance growth ambitions with rising geopolitical risk, and how are they building resilience? Will the Gulf’s next phase of growth be defined not just by ambition, but its ability to withstand disruption?
This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.
This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.
Gulf sovereign and quasi-sovereign funds are the heart of the region's diversification push, deploying finance into assets that shape global power balances. We assess how Gulf funds are projecting capital and influence across markets, and how that aligns with leading global peers. What’s really driving allocation across sectors including tourism, manufacturing and logistics and what are the hot investments for the next 6-12 months?
This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.
Foreign direct investment, alongside other investment streams, is driving growth as Gulf economies diversify beyond hydrocarbons. Promising returns and technological advancements in non-oil sectors including clean energy, transport, and AI are attracting international capital, prompting regulatory liberalisation. Will these incentives be enough to maintain momentum and foreign investor confidence in the wake of regional uncertainty? How are domestic and international investors leveraging public-private partnership models to deliver major projects? And which sectors - and sources of capital - are likely to shape the region’s next wave of investment?
This session is in partnership with event sponsors.
GCC IPOs are moving into a more deliberate phase, becoming a key driver of the region's economic transformation. We discuss what turns listings into lasting market depth: disclosure and free-float standards, liquidity and secondary trading, research coverage, and the balance of local versus international investors. What is needed, from regulatory measures to investor commitments, to ensure markets mature into globally relevant, trusted destinations for long-term investment?
This session is in partnership with event sponsors.
Reuters correspondents discuss Iran’s extended crisis, drawing on exclusive on-the-ground reporting about the nationwide protests over economic collapse, security crackdowns and mounting pressure from US sanctions. The expert reporting team explores how a struggling economy, energy and water shortages and questions over regime stability are reshaping Iran’s behaviour at home and abroad – and what it means for nuclear diplomacy, regional security and global markets.
Disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil and gas flows, have exposed the fragility of the world’s energy supplies. As the shift to clean energy accelerates, access to the critical minerals essential for its creation is both a strategic priority and a security issue. How can countries and corporations secure truly resilient supply chains?
This session is in partnership with event sponsors.
This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.
This session will bring together leading voices from luxury and retail to examine how the industry is adapting to new market realities. What do changing consumer behaviours mean for growth and positioning? How is AI transforming brand strategy and operations? And how are brands balancing heritage with innovation in an increasingly competitive global market?
This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.
Access to essential medicines and health technologies is being hampered by blocked supply chains and concentrated innovation funding - raising risks for both national security and public health. How can policy, funding and public–private partnerships reduce vulnerabilities while also advancing the development of new medicines and technologies?
This session is in partnership with event sponsors.
This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.
Gulf states are making a bold shift - moving from importing AI to building it end-to-end, training national models on local data and investing heavily in the datacentres and power systems to support them. We examine what "sovereign AI" means in practice for the GCC, the infrastructure race it is driving, and the real challenges that come with it: grid capacity, cooling in extreme heat, water and land use, and talent shortages. With ambitions to serve compute demand across Europe, Asia and Africa, can the Gulf position itself as the world's next great AI infrastructure hub?
This session is in partnership with event sponsors.
The Gulf’s AI ambitions are accelerating against the backdrop of an intensifying U.S.–China tech race. The opportunity is vast - but so are the risks, from data leakage to loss of control. Tensions between governments and tech firms show how quickly these concerns are shifting from theory to policy. As AI evolves from tool to operator, how can leaders harness its power without ceding judgement, trust and accountability?
This session is in partnership with event sponsors.
This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.
As AI investment accelerates, leadership teams are under pressure to demonstrate tangible value and returns. This session will explore how organisations can translate AI-driven efficiency into sustained business value - by measuring freed capacity, redeploying it into new revenue opportunities, and building feedback loops that compound returns over time.
As AI moves from pilot to economy-wide deployment, the Gulf faces a defining leadership challenge: how to operationalise AI sovereignty across both public institutions and the private sector. This roundtable brings together senior leaders to examine the governance models, incentive structures and risk frameworks needed to scale AI responsibly - and the leadership capabilities required to drive it.
Traditional financial institutions are increasingly collaborating with fintech companies to reach new private credit markets and meet consumers’ digitisation demands. Advancements in digital and real-time payment solutions and crypto, central bank digital currency pilots, and tokenised private credit via blockchain are causing knock-on effects in the investment space. How are institutional investors reacting to the digital transformation in the finance sector; and what does this mean for consumer trust, the future of cybersecurity and regulatory realms?
GCC investors are deploying capital in an environment shaped by geopolitical fragmentation, energy-market volatility, and supply chain disruption – conditions that require swift operational and strategic pivots. Alongside traditional allocations, commodities, such as gold and critical minerals, serve differentiated roles from strategic hedges to growth engines for the energy transition. This session will explore how institutional investors are designing portfolios that absorb shock, remain resilient, and achieve long-term objectives.
Global trade is being redrawn by conflict, chokepoints and competition for critical resources. From Red Sea disruptions rippling through freight costs, insurance and supply availability, to the race to secure critical minerals and build bankable Gulf-Africa corridors, businesses are being forced to rethink how they source, route and finance goods across some of the world's most consequential trade lanes. This roundtable examines how senior leaders are responding: rerouting and contract redesign, inventory and logistics strategy, trade finance structures, and the digital infrastructure needed to keep supply chains moving through volatility and geopolitical turbulence.
The GCC is positioning itself as a global hub for digital assets, supported by capital, talent, and clearer regulation at the crossroads of major currency and trade routes. This panel focuses on what's actually scaling: retail demand, institutional engagement, and use cases moving into production—tokenised funds and real-world assets, stablecoins, cross-border payments, and market infrastructure serving regional and global flows. We'll cover the operational essentials: licensing and supervision, custody, AML, bank and fintech participation, and what it takes for the GCC to become a price-making jurisdiction in global digital-asset markets.
The Gulf shopper is trading down and trading up at once - saving on staples while splurging on beauty, fragrance, and wellness in markets that often set trends for wider emerging consumers. This panel explores how brands protect margins without losing share through segmentation, innovation, pricing and promotions, pack architecture, and channel strategy across modern trade, e-commerce, and tourism-driven retail. We'll also cover the people engine: building and retaining global teams in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Riyadh, and leading multicultural, fast-scaling organisations—using Gulf consumer behaviour as an early signal for global luxury, travel, and lifestyle demand.
It's a great event for two things. One, to learn about what's next, what's coming our way, and to connect with great leaders from across the globe. Two, it's connecting everything in the world and making a meaning out of it together because things don't happen independently, and how it is going to give meaning to the future of the world.
