GITEX Global is going to move to Expo City next year with a new format, expanded agenda, and enhanced visitor experience to unlock new opportunities for every participant, its senior executive says.

Ayman Hassan, Vice-President – Commercial at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), said the move to Dubai Expo City in 2026 marks the boldest evolution in the 45-year history of GITEX Global as the new venue offers the scale and infrastructure needed for the next chapter of growth.

“The event will also shift permanently to December, aligning with Dubai's peak tourism season and creating an extraordinary 'tech-cation' experience that blends innovation with the city's world-class lifestyle and hospitality,” Hassan told BTR in an exclusive interview ahead of the region's premier tech extravaganza.

Importantly, he said the relocation also brings back GITEX Global and Expand North Star together, restoring the synergy between global big tech, startups, investors, and policymakers.

“Together, these changes will create a reimagined experience that amplifies impact and unlocks new opportunities for every participant,” he said.

Excerpts from the interview:

Dubai World Trade Centre is hosting the last exhibition of GITEX GLOBAL. What is your plan to make this a special event?

This year carries an extra sense of significance as we celebrate the 45th edition of GITEX Global at DWTC, the very place where the show was born and has grown into the world's largest tech, AI and startup event. Making this edition even more special is the record participation and engagement from global tech communities, with over 6,500 tech enterprises joining, including 2,000 startups, and tech delegations arriving from over 180 countries.

This marks a truly global celebration of our incredible journey over the past four decades and a symbolic grand finale before the move to Expo City Dubai next year. The show will honour the legacy of DWTC as the launchpad of GITEX Global and Expand North Star while setting the stage for a bold new chapter in Dubai's global tech story.

GITEX Global 2025 convenes the tech giants co-creating the world's most ambitious AI infrastructure expansion, including Alibaba Cloud, AMD, AWS, Dell, e&, G42, Google, HPE, Huawei, IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, Salesforce, Siemens, and Snowflake. Visitors will also see the most recent developments from first-time exhibiting enterprises, from Cerebras, Datadog, Mitsubishi, Qualcomm, Rital, and ServiceNow to Tata Electronics, Telecom Italia, and Tenstorrent.

Another highlight is the record-breaking international participation, featuring Brazil as Country Partner with its largest-ever showcase, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Tech Destination Pakistan as key partners, and inaugural pavilions from Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Türkiye, and emerging Central Europe economies - from Armenia to Georgia - also joining for the first time.

What new initiatives are planned for the 45th edition of GITEX Global?

The 45th edition of GITEX Global introduces several bold initiatives that reflect the growing focus on future-critical sectors worldwide. This year, we are launching new dedicated arenas for these sectors under the brands: GITEX Quantum Expo, Super Data Centres, Physical AI, and Semicon. These play a key role in technologies that will be pivotal to the growth of future economies.

We are also expanding our focus on digital healthcare with GITEX Digi Health and Biotech, alongside climate technology, while deepening our showcases in intelligent connectivity, future mobility and smart city innovations. Hosted in collaboration with the UAE Cybersecurity Council, this year GITEX Cyber Valley also doubles in size in response to the increasing market demand for resilient cyber infrastructures and governance, as AI-led threats rise year on year.

How will you evaluate the past 44 editions of GITEX? Please share key reasons of success and what is your plan to sustain this trend in coming years?

Looking back at 44 editions, the story of GITEX is one of consistency, adaptability, and ambition. From a regional IT show in 1981, it has grown into the world's largest tech and startup platform, trusted by governments, global enterprises, and entrepreneurs alike. The key to the success has been our relentless focus on quality delivery and our ability to reinvent the show in step with a global technological change. The trust, scale, and relevance have been our hallmarks. To sustain this trajectory, our plan is clear, to continually expand into new industries and markets, to keep raising the standard of excellence, and to leverage our global network, currently spanning 12 cities and countries, to ensure Dubai remains at the centre of digital transformation worldwide.

GITEX has become a global brand with its expansion to Singapore, Vietnam, Asia, Africa and Europe, among others. Please shed light on its international expansion and future target markets.

The international expansion of GITEX is one of our proudest achievements. In just three years, the brand has grown into 12 countries and cities, spanning continents from Europe to Africa to Asia. Each expansion has been deliberate, we enter countries where governments place technology at the centre of their national growth agendas, and where GITEX Global can serve as an accelerator of those ambitions.

This strategy has helped create an equitable platform, where emerging as well as established economies come together on the same stage to co-create the future of tech. This is an event where political and cultural barriers give way to the collective mission of advancing technology for global good.

Looking ahead, we will continue to evaluate markets where there is both demand and where they prioritise technology as a driver of economic growth. The goal is not to expand geographically, but to deepen GITEX's role as a unifying global brand for innovation.

GITEX plays an important role in establishing tech ecosystem in the UAE by focusing on Innovation, AI, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity. What do you say.

GITEX has been instrumental in shaping the UAE's innovative ecosystem. By placing AI, blockchain, cybersecurity, and other breakthrough technologies at the core of the event, we have created an environment where group leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors can connect directly with the UAE's vision and ambition. The show serves as the meeting point for capital, talent, and ideas, helping to transform Dubai into a true living laboratory where new technologies can be tested, scaled, and commercialised. This aligns seamlessly with the UAE's AI strategy and the D33 agenda, ensuring that GITEX is not just an event, but a catalyst for national progress and digital leadership.

How do you see the role of GITEX summits and conferences in the success of attracting global investors, entrepreneurs and IT talent to the UAE?

The summits and conferences held as part of GITEX play a critical role in shaping the show's impact. They are not just side events but core platforms where policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers debate the most decisive issues of our time, from AI sovereignty and ethics to regulation and scaling innovation responsibility. This engagement will attract over 1,200 investors with $1.1 trillion in assets under management convening to scout the next big startup investment opportunity, as well as more than 40 global unicorns. The conferences also feature the largest ever line-up of CEOs and founders on stage. By offering such a high-level knowledge exchange, GITEX reinforces Dubai's appeal as the place where strategic decisions about the future of technology are made, drawing talent, and capital into the UAE's ecosystem.

GITEX plays an important role in strengthening the digital economy at both regional and global level. What do you say?

Yes, in 2023 alone, DWTC events led by GITEX and Gulfood generated Dh7.22 billion in economic output, contributing directly to Dubai's D33 Agenda to double the size of the economy by 2033. The growth of our events has also inspired the expansion of Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City, with a $2.72 billion expansion project that will see DEC become the world's largest purpose-built indoor venue on completion. It also signals a sustained demand for large-scale events and confidence in Dubai's role as a global convening force.

The impact goes beyond the events. The global engagement at GITEX makes import/export trade ties between nations stronger and creates new channels for foreign direct investment, into the UAE and globally. Equally important is the knowledge transfer and capacity building that takes place here, enabling startups to scale, policies to evolve, and industries to modernise. By connecting the dots between innovation, investment, and impact, GITEX strengthens the digital economy not just for Dubai, but for every country that engages with our platform.

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