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.

Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development Chairman H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi

For decades, globalisation made capital allocation straightforward. Today, investors must navigate geopolitical tensions, supply-chain realignment and technological disruption. Capital is now moving in every direction, from East to West and back again. From sovereign wealth funds to highly strategic investment groups, how are long-term investors balancing returns with wider economic objectives, and where are they finding value? What drives their investment thesis across sectors including energy, tourism, climate and infrastructure? And how is soft power shaping decisions, and what are the hot investments for the next 6-12 months?

Khazanah Nasional Berhad Managing Director Dato' Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir
2PointZero Group Chief Executive Officer Samia Bouazza
First Abu Dhabi Bank Managing Director & Global Head of Sovereign Wealth Funds Sophia Oumary

This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.

AI adoption is accelerating fast across the Gulf - new research shows AI adoption among UAE businesses has surged to 72%, up from 53% a year earlier, a 36% year-on-year rise, with 74% of business leaders now naming AI a top or high strategic priority. As adoption shifts from pilot projects to mass-scale, agentic deployment -and as the region's AI ambitions accelerate against the backdrop of an intensifying U.S.-China tech race this session discusses what this growth means for productivity, investment and competitiveness across Gulf economies, and how businesses and governments can capture the upside of AI at scale while managing the risks to trust, security and market confidence.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Managing Director UAE & MENA Growth Markets Chris Erasmus
Moderator: Thomson Reuters Head of Reuters Professional Josh London

This session is in partnership with AWS.

"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?

Bank of America President Middle East & North Africa Arshad Ghafur
Brookfield Managing Partner & Regional Head of the Middle East Jad Ellawn
Investment Agency of Georgia Chief Executive Officer Mikheil Khidureli
Moderator: Nazanine Moshiri

This session is in partnership with Investment Agency of Georgia.

More information coming soon.

"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?

Harrods Managing Director Michael Ward
Kering President Middle East & Africa Miral Youssef
Kerzner International Managment Chief Executive Officer Philippe Zuber

This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.

Real estate is evolving from a traditional asset class into a platform for long-term economic development, infrastructure investment and capital formation. Amid regional uncertainty, how are developers continuing to build for the future, and what does disciplined capital management look like? OMNIYAT Founder & Executive Chairman Mahdi Amjad discusses how he identifies the next opportunities for growth, the role of strategic partnerships, private capital and debt markets in financing the communities and assets of the future, and what it takes to create a market for excellence ahead of demand.

OMNIYAT Founder & Executive Chairman Mahdi Amjad
Moderator: Thomson Reuters Head of Reuters Professional Josh London

This session is in partnership with OMNIYAT.

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, and the cross-border cooperation and data governance questions that come with scaling at this pace. 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 - and what would it mean for the wider global balance of AI capability?

HUMAIN Chief Executive Officer Tareq Amin
Digital Cooperation Organization Secretary General H.E. Deemah Alyahya
Moderator: Event Moderator Nazanine Moshiri

This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.

This session is hosted by a Reuters journalist under the Trust Principles.