 Good morning. It's a special privilege and honor to be here in the United Arab Emirates. And I would like to thank the president and the ruler of Dubai, Al-Fabudabi, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Sayyed al-Nahyan, and the prime minister and the ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum for being our great hosts and partners. I would like to thank the government of Abu Dhabi for their support, and particularly the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Sayyed al-Nahyan, Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council for his personal support and the excellent cooperation which we had with his team. I would like to welcome here, particularly and cordially, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Sayyed al-Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. It's also a great pleasure to welcome His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Sayyed al-Nahyan, Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Chairman of the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Residents, prime ministers, Highnesses, Excellencies, and Co-Chairs of the Summit on the Global Agenda, Your Excellency, Sultan Said Nasr al-Mansouri, Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates, Your Excellency, Al-Majed al-Mansouri Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, United Arab Emirates. Dear members of the Global Agenda Councils of the World Economic Forum, dear partners and members of the World Economic Forum, friends, it's a very special occasion here to participate and to brainstorm at what's probably the foremost meeting of its kind in the world, trying to look at the future in an integrated, comprehensive way, not in a departmentalized way. We are living in an ecosystem. And to do so, integrating all stakeholders of global society. We know we are living in times where governments and leaders in general are very absorbed by crisis management, by the pressures of today. But it's even more necessary during those times to lean back, to reflect, and to think forward. And to do so in a comprehensive way. And that's what we are here for. In the second part, I will particularly highlight the future challenges. But before doing so, I would like to ask my two co-chairs and First Sultan Syed Nasr al-Mansuri, his Excellency, the Minister of Economy, to address us on the occasion of this opening session. In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful. Let me just first thank His Highness, Sheikh Mansur Bizaad Al-Nahyaan, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Residential Affairs. For him being here, we are very honored to have you here, Your Highness. I'd like also to thank His Highness Sheikh Hamid Bizaad Al-Nahyaan for also honoring us here today. Also, my colleague, Ali Majid Mansuri, Chairman of the OW Department of Economic Development. And of course, you all know this wonderful man, Professor Klaus Schwab, the founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, who have brought us all here in this nice weather. But he's going to also get it together in a very cold climate sometime in January, in the end of January, where in Davos, where I do hope to see you all. Excellencies, these gentlemen on behalf of the government of the United Arab Emirates, I am honored to welcome you to the 2015 World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda. I thank the World Economic Forum for hosting this landmark summit in the UAE. This is, by the way, the eighth time that's being held here in the UAE. And it's the third time it's being held in the beautiful city, our capital, Abu Dhabi. Of course, the partnership between the forum, the UAE, continue to grow. And we are very grateful for your effective collaboration. The Summit on the Global Agenda is about bringing people together to engage an important conversation that may otherwise not have happened, to take part in rigorous debate and share our ideas. The diverse perspectives represented here make the summit an exceptional space for creative and collaborative problem-solving. In short, we are here together to innovate. Ladies and gentlemen, this year's summit actually comes at a very unique time for the history of the UAE. And that is under the wide leadership of His Highness, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of UAE, 2015 has been announced as the year of innovation. And with the guidance of His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and role of Dubai, we are currently implementing a comprehensive and inclusive national innovation strategy. While the UAE has been placed with an abundance of natural resources and a strategic position geographically, we cannot depend on these inherent advantages for our prosperity and sustainable future. I would like to quote Professor Shuaab, who said in a recent editorial, natural resources are finite and so is financial capital. Human capital is not. We believe that the investment in people is one of the reasons why in less than a decade, the UAE has climbed from a ranking of 37 to being listed as 17 most competitive country in the World Economic Forum and Global Competitiveness Report published this year. This focus on human capital is the precise premise of the national innovation strategy, a collective and continual effort to cultivate innovation as a cornerstone of our country's sustainable knowledge-based economy. Actually, we aim that our country to be among the most innovative societies in the world by the year 2021. By the way, the year 2021 is a very important date for us. We have actually drafted a vision on so many sectors that has to be developed with certain objective to be reached by the year 2021. This is the time the UAE will be 50 years old. Of course, we plan to ensure that 5% of total GDP is generated from innovation. And to achieve this, we are making a long-term investment in nurturing globally competitive world-class human capital. Currently, on phase one, the national innovation strategy includes 30 initiatives to be completed within three years, including new legislations, investment in specialized skills, private sector incentives and international research partnership. Also earlier this year, His Highness Sheikh Mansur Bin Zayedal Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs outlined a seven-point education schemes to foster a love for research and innovation at a very young age, particularly in the STEM subjects. Also the UAE, as you all know, probably have a young population with an average of just over 30 years. We believe that is our young people who will create the associated shift, shaping an environment that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship. We also have launched a program recently on the development program on the public sector in innovation with the University of Cambridge Judge Business School offering a diploma in government innovation. Now these UAE graduates national will be eligible for the role of CEO of innovation and new position made mandatory by every federal government entity. Of course, the investment is an integral part of achieving our vision of 2021. It's an ambitious and deliberate economic roadmap created to ensure that the UAE in an oil economy contributes 80% of the country's gross domestic product by the year 2021. And we are well on our way with an oil sector contributing almost 69.6% of the GDP in 2014. But also we have made great strides in recent years in other fields. For instance, in 2010, Strata, which is a manufacturing on the airspace, it has actually delivered its first product flap track fairings for the Airbus industry, A330, A340. Now with its latest technological advancement, Strata is the anchor of the UAE's aerospace hub. The industrial sector is the second largest contributor to the UAE GDP after oil and gas, accounting for nearly 14% of the national economic output at the end of 2014. We believe that the industrial sector has immense potential to achieve sustained growth. Muster, which leads the renewable energy developments in this region with its financial commitment of almost 1.7 billion US dollar and is responsible for generating nearly one gigawatt of clean power worldwide. Muster has delivered almost 14 projects in five countries and has 13 ongoing projects across nine different countries. And no economic forum in the UAE can be currently deemed complete without mentioning the mega platform of the Expo 2020 Dubai, the first Expo to be hosted in the Arab world. This initiative is an accelerator for the further diversification of the UAE economy. Estimates indicate that economic impact generated by Expo between now and 2021 will be approximately 9.6 billion US dollars. Much of this value is expected to be retained within the region. In addition, the Expo theme of connecting minds creating the future echoes the powerful spirit of partnership and cooperation that has driven the UAE success in pioneering new venues of development and innovation. Furthermore, it's critical to mention that none of this can happen without the participation of the private sector, particularly the SMEs. These ambitious entrepreneurs are similar to our ancestors who developed thriving business around fishing, pearling and agriculture. And currently in the UAE, the SME sector contributes almost 60% of the country's GDP provided 86% of all private sector employment. Of course, I have to tell you also about the subject of the UAE economy. The gross domestic product of the UAE is actually predicted to grow by three to three and a half percent to approximately 1.5 trillion dirhams this year. Now, we compare this to 4.6% growth rate, which actually account for 1.47 billion trillion dirhams. This was for the year 2014. Of course, the country has set itself on a path to maintain its high growth rate over the past years. This is of course, despite the economic uncertainties in the world, the weakened oil prices and the regional stability. To quote the words of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Barajdar Maktoum, innovation today is driven by effective institutions, strong policies, specialized skills, an economy where all sectors work together to discover new ways to conduct business. A flexible and creative economy based on a national culture of innovation is the fastest and most sustainable way to reinforce the UAE's competitiveness on a global level. Your Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen, innovation is the driver of efficiency and sustainability. Ultimately, our aim is to advance a national culture that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship through partnership between the public and private sectors locally, regionally, and internationally. The UAE is keen to promote the message of social and economic development at this global platform. The economic reality in the world today requires us to play a larger role in shaping the global economic order, as well as in empowering the social development debate, which why you are here today. Of course, the solutions of some of the most pressing concerns of the world lies in sincere partnership between the rich and poor nations, between large, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and between global organizations and specialized entities. And for this reason, I keenly look forward to the next few days to be able to share our growth experiences, forge new synergies, and further cements the UAE's role as an effective and collaborative global citizen. I once again welcome you all to this event, and I'm also very confident that this summit will succeed in achieving its holistic objectives. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the UAE, and I wish you an all-productive participation. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, minister. May I now invite your excellency, Alman Suri, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development to address us. In the name of Allah, and peace and blessings of Allah. Your Highness, Sheikh Mansour bin Zaidan Hayyan, the B2 Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, Your Highness Sheikh Hamid bin Zaidan Hayyan, Professor Klaus Schwab, your excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. It's an honor to formally welcome you to the 8th World Economic Forum Summit on the global agenda, hosted in the UAE, and for the third time in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. And on a personal note, it is a privilege to be part of the summit this year. The minister has outlined the economic roadmap and ambitions, and highlighted some of our country's current achievements, all of which have contributed to the UAE's recent top positions in various rankings around the world. In the 2015 National Brands Report, compiled by Brand Finance in the UK, the UAE ranked 29 out of 100 countries as having the most valuable nation brands. Also, the UAE ranked very favorably, fourth place for top nation brand for investment, just behind Singapore, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. Abu Dhabi government has made it clear that horizontal economic diversification is at the heart of its long-term strategic plans. From historical perspectives, the oil sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and in general in the UAE, has made up more than 70% to 80% of the aggregate demand. That number today has dropped to 50%, and our plan is to drive that to almost 40% by 2030. We have a plan, and we have targets to make the private sector, non-oil sector, play a major role in aggregate demand or GDP. By listening the Emirates' dependence on any single sector of the economy, such as commodities or real estate, sustainable growth and low volatility can be achieved and attained. And by expanding the economy, we also create range of highly skilled private sector employment opportunities for many generations. These are lessons that we have learned from studying experiences of other economies and nations, such as Norway, just to name a few, New Zealand, Singapore, and others. All of the key findings that we have discovered from all of the successes of other nations has been implemented in our economic blueprint, the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. Among the singular attributes of the UAE is its diverse population. We have more than 200 nationalities who call the UAE home, and we also call them citizens. They are all welcomed, and we call them our partners. Geographically, two-thirds of the world's population lives within an eight-hour flight of the United Arab Emirates. All of this interconnectivity with our cultural, commercial, or geographic has allowed Abu Dhabi to engage in various initiatives that support the growth of the UAE and improve the living standards of our citizens and residents. And to just give you some examples of some of the initiatives that the government has taken the past few years, and today we see some of them. Abu Dhabi Global Markets has opened its door to receive international investors to stop their offices in El-Maria Island. Abu Dhabi Global Market is in close proximity to one of the most prominent investment institutions in the world, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, ADIA. The cultural district on Saadiyat Island is rapidly taking shape, with the Louvre scheduled to open late next year, followed by the Saad National Museum and Gogenheim. The Emirates Nuclear Energy, established in 2009, is mandated to develop safe and sustainable peaceful nuclear energy program. The 20 billion plus program has achieved all milestone to dates and is on track to deliver power by 2017. By 2020, it will meet 25% of UAE electricity demand while reducing carbon emissions and our dependence on hydrocarbons. In carbon transportation, Califa Port is considered among the most effective ports and industrial zones globally. Applying cutting-edge technology, the only semi-automated containers terminal in the region, the port is set to expand over four more phases to handle 15 million containers and 35 million tons of cargo by year 2030. Abu Dhabi International Airport has changed beyond recognition since operation began in 1969 with a single terminal. Now, Homo Fitihaat Airways, the UAE's national airline, Abu Dhabi Airports, welcome 20 million passengers in 2014. This year, we expect to close the year approximately 25 million plus. The figure is due to rise to beyond 30 million passengers by 2017. When the amazing 700,000 square meter midfield terminal, one of the most ambitious aviation projects ever undertaken is operational. Infrastructure, however, is considered an enabler and the foundation required to produce skill motivated in a global society. World-class education, training and mentorship are top priorities for the Emirates and we are continually developing these imperatives. As the minister mentioned earlier, master in a student is the world first graduate level university dedicated to renewable energy, environment and sustainability. United Arab Emirates University and other local university has gained international recognition and we are all proud of that. New York University, Abu Dhabi has already celebrated two graduating classes and the Paris Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi is developing a general multilingual skills, not to mention our home-growing several technology colleges. In addition, on the job internship, mentoring and training program are a must. The ability to grow and adapt to changing circumstances has been central to our national identity. This openness to progress remains at the heart of the government regions for the future of the Emirates. It is our genuine wish that we can share our experiences and the lessons to help address challenges faced by other nations. This summit is a place to collectively share and explore our methodologies and practices to reach a broad sustainable solution to global challenges and opportunities. For me, this principle of long-term thinking is a critical element to this week's discussion. I am confident that 2015 summit and the global agenda will allow us to do that. Thank you very much. Peace be upon you. Thank you, your excellency. I think the two introductory welcome speeches have shown us how appropriate it is to have this summit here in the United Arab Emirates. Minister, you refer to the competitiveness report and the ranking. I would say if we would publish and we probably will do so a future readiness report, I'm sure that the Emirates would rank at the very, very top. For this reason, knowing that we have many global agenda councils and knowing that at the moment there are so important issues on the global agenda in the area of security, in the area of humanitarian solidarity and so on, also all the global agenda councils which look at the implementation of the sustainable development goals. But I want to emphasize the need to look at the future. And I do so also because if it takes this meeting as a preparation for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where we will have as a theme the impact of the fourth technological revolution. The fourth industrial revolution. Why the fourth? The first one of course brought us industrialization. It started at the end of the 18th century. The second one was the mass production made possible by the T-model of thought, by the use of electricity and then we had the third one. Some people would call it the computer revolution. But today behind the force industrial revolution which is different and which will determine government action, businesses, economies, even ourselves in very substantial ways. And we should not underestimate the change which is ahead of us. Let me first ask you some questions and please raise your hands. I make a poll. Who of you feels that in the next 10 years until 2025 we will have the first 3D printed cars in circulation. Please raise your hands. A majority. Let me ask a second question. Who feels that in the next 10 years you will not go anymore to a normal pharmacy but you will go to a robotic pharmacist who will advise you best. Next 10 years. Again, a light majority I would say. Who feels that we will have in the next years the first implantable mobile phone available, somewhere implanted in our body. A small majority, a small majority. But who feels, and I'm coming slowly to an end, who feels that we will have the first transplant of a 3D printed liver in the next 10 years. Again, and I have to say, the participants of our host country seem to be more future oriented than the rest of the audience. Now last question. Who feels that we will have machines in the next 10 years who can read our mind? Yeah. We did actually, I have taken those questions from a poll which was conducted by one of our councils and the poll showed more than 50% for each of the items I presented. So, what I want to demonstrate, the change will be so substantial. And if I compare this fourth revolution we see industrial revolutions of the past, there are three major differences. The first one is the speed. See, the old revolutions came like small waves building up. The new technological revolution will come like a tsunami. The second change is that it is not a revolution related to one area, to one product. It's not just mobile, it's not just sensors. No, it's also nanotechnology, it's renewables. It's brain research and so on and the combination of all those innovations will create a very strong force. The last innovation or the last difference which I would see is the fact that this is not a product innovation so much or a service innovation as we have seen in the past. Were innovation generated a new product? No, it's a systems innovation. Just look at Uber. It's not producing new cars, it's producing a new way of what we did in the past. And of course this will enable what we call now the shared economy. So, many changes will happen and we will have to prepare. And I'm thankful for all the councils here in the room like the council for the future of electricity, the council for the future of manufacturing and I could go on and on who are preparing us for the impact of those innovations. Now, let me just look what's the impact of those innovations will be and I will be very short because the impact will be everywhere but let me take out some issues. What will be the impact on business and economies? So, key word as it came out in your presentations in the future will be entrepreneurship, agility. It will be more so small than the medium enterprises and who have the necessary agility and I would say in the future it will not anymore as a big fish which eats the small fish. It will be the fast fish which eats the slow fish. So for also the necessity which we see now in the world that big companies organize themselves as platforms. Just take as an example Google which now has created a platform called Alphabet to place all its businesses on this platform. So the need for agility because the business model of each sector will be fundamentally restructured. Banking, the disintermediation which we will see and that leads me to the next point. It is the question what is the impact of this revolution on skills, on labor. Now in the past we had what we called creative destruction which means the jobs which were destroyed by innovation could be replaced by new usually upgraded jobs but now we are not anymore as sure whether we will have those upgraded jobs because with the disintermediation the technology will replace many jobs in the more upper skilled sector. So I know Prime Minister Brown when we talked about it you told me the jobs of the future will be robot polishes and drone dispatchers and so on. Which means we need completely new skills and those countries which are preparing first for those new skills I would think will be the winners. So the key for government policies will be upskilling, reskilling to be prepared for this new technology age. What will be the impact on governments? Governments will be more important than ever before because what we are doing requires close cooperation between business and governments. In this new world which is so fast paced we have to make sure that the pace of innovation is followed by the pace of governmental action creating norms, creating rules. That's by the way one of the big functions of the World Economic Forum to be a platform for discussion and dialogue between business and governments to set standards and rules for this evolving new world. Governments could approach it in two ways. They could say, as I mentioned to some of you yesterday everything which is not explicitly forbidden is allowed but they could also say everything which is not allowed is forbidden. So you have two approaches and we have to find some kind of submittal way of the two. Let me just test you again. We made a poll recently at the, and I want to see how open you are for this new world. We made recently a poll at the annual meeting of the new champions and we asked the question if you were diagnosed with a life limiting illness and a human doctor described to you with a treatment regime A and an artificial intelligence robot described to you with a treatment regime B. Whom would you follow? The doctor or the robot? Who would follow the doctor? Majority. Who would follow the robot? I mean the rest but actually it's already now the reality is that the Watson, the IBM robot can create better cancer diagnosis than every doctor in the world. Well let me ask a second question. If you were brought to trial falsely, falsely accused of committing a serious crime would you be rather judged by a human judge or an artificial intelligence judge? Who votes for the human judge? And who for the artificial intelligence judge? Oh, I have to say in our poll, two thirds still prefer the human being. So that's the new technology age. Now we have to be prepared for it and what we are doing I think is the best way to think about all those issues in an integrated way to work together, the public sector, the private sector, the best minds in the world. That's how we can define the issues in a strategic way, in a proactive way. That's how we can create solutions and how we can create possible action. I want to thank again the government of United Arab Emirates for being such great partners. And I think the forum I may say in false modesty has always been a looking forward organization but to have found a partner who has exactly the same attitude. I think that's what makes this meeting so productive and successful. I want to thank again His Highness, Sheikh Mansour bin Syed Al-Nayan, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs to be with us at this opening session and His Highness Sheikh Hamid bin Syed Al-Nayan, the Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Chairman of the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Let me conclude by saying the new technology age, if shaped, and we can contribute to it, in a responsive and responsible way, could catalyze a new cultural renaissance that enables us to feel part of something much larger than ourselves, a true global civilization. Eric Schmidt in Davos said this year, we will see the fight of the human against the robot. I think we can make sure that the human is winning this fight, providing we cultivate the special human treats of belonging, of creativity, of feelings. The first industrial revolution provides, therefore, a tendency to robotize humanity, which means to deprive it of its heart and its soul. Yet, it also has the great potential if we work together and if we create more role models to lift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of density. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.