Inaugural Investopia Summit shapes features of 'economy of the future'

(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))

DUBAI, 28th March, 2022 (WAM) -- As part of the World government Summit 2022, the Investopia summit kicked off today, featuring over 90 speakers and 1,000 participants made up of decision-makers, investors, experts and innovators from the UAE and the world, to discuss ideas, opportunities, and future investments all over the world.

Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, stated, 'Investopia aims to facilitate the global dialogue, to formulate innovative partnership models and schemes that will generate future investment opportunities, which will help create a new global ecosystem and lay down the foundations for responsible and sustainable future economies. With Investopia, we are setting a different tone and changing the global investment behaviour to not only focus on the economics but also the human, social and environmental aspects.'

Bin Touq stressed that the summit embodies the UAE's futuristic vision, constituting a main pillar in the country's march toward building its future economy based on employing latest technologies in all pivotal sectors.

Participants in the summit included Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth; Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs; Mohammad Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO of Mubadala Group, Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan bin Khalid Al Qasimi, CEO of the Department of Government Relations in Sharjah, Larry Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blackrock, and Makhtar Diop, Managing Director at IFC.

The first session, entitled 'From Now to new: the global investment outlook 2025', hosted Spirydon-Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of Development and Investment of Greece; Rebeca Grynspan, Director-General of UNCTAD; and Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and Managing Partner, SkyBridge Capital.

Rebeca Grynspan highlighted the importance of governments adopting comprehensive economic strategies that keep pace with challenges and investment requirements in the short- and long-term.

She painted a big picture of what's required and possible for investments now and in the future, 'You need to enhance investment in infrastructure, in digital transformation, in climate change, and we need private-public partnerships to be able to do that.'

Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi participated in a session, entitled 'Not a luxury: investing in the creative industries', speaking alongside Alain Bejjani, CEO, Majd Al Futtaim, Elie Habib, Co-Founder and CTO, Anghami; Patrick Chalhoub, CEO, Chalhoub Group; Sophie Watts, Founder and Executive Chairperson, Metacurio. The session was moderated by Rachel Pether, Senior Advisor, SkyBridge.

Khaldoon Mubarak, CEO, Mubadala and Larry Fink, CEO, Blackrock participated in the 'The long view: lessons from investment leaders' session moderated by John Defterios. The session highlighted the change in the global investment scene, in light of the rapid changes during the recent period.

'The UAE Investment Outlook: 50 Years Ahead' session hosted Mohammed Al Shorafa, and Helal Al Marri, where they highlighted the importance of the initiatives and programmes of the UAE during the next 50 years.

The panels explored concepts such as the metaverse and the investment opportunities it presents, the necessity of leadership in climate change and investments to address our climate challenge, agri-tech solutions to address food supply chain challenges and much more.

Investopia has a wide network of local and global partners, including the global cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com, Deloitte Middle East, Accenture Middle East, BlackRock, and a number of partners from the private sector, along with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, and the Sharjah Foreign Direct Investment Office (Invest in Sharjah).

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