The 11th edition of the World Governments Summit (WGS 2024) was held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 12th to 14th February 2024.
- WGS 2024 was held under the theme of “Shaping Future Governments”.
- At present, Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs (UAE) is the chairman of the World Governments Summit (WGS) organization.
Note: WGS Organisation is a global, neutral, non-profit organization dedicated to shaping the future of governments.
About World Governments Summit (WGS):
i.World Governments Summit is annually held in Dubai, UAE to bring together global leaders, policymakers, experts and thought leaders from various fields to discuss and frame government processes, policies and futuristic technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
ii.WGS was established in 2013 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE to serve as a global knowledge exchange program for governments.
WGS 2024:
Participants: The summit witnessed the participation of 25 government and state heads with 120 government delegations worldwide. Representatives of more than 85 international, regional and intergovernmental organisations and more than 4000 attendees participated in the summit.
Main Theme:
The agenda of the summit highlighted 6 main themes:
- Government Acceleration and Transformation
- Artificial Intelligence and The Next Frontiers
- Reimagining Development and Future Economies
- Future Societies and Education
- Sustainability and The New Global Shifts
- Urbanization and Global Health Priorities
Guests of honour at WGS 2024
India, Türkiye and Qatar were named the Guests of honour at the WGS 2024 held in Dubai, UAE.
i.At the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister(PM) of India, Recep Erdogan, President of Türkiye and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassin Al Thani, Foreign Minister of Qatar, participated in the summit as Guests of honour.
ii.These three countries shared their successful government experiences and best developmental practices during the summit.
PM Modi Attended the WGS 2024
PM Narendra Modi participated at the WGS 2024 in Dubai, UAE on 14th February 2024. He addressed the summit centred on the theme of the summit- Shaping the Future Governments.
- This marks the 2nd time PM Modi was invited to the summit as a Guest of honour, the first being in 2018.
Points to note:
i.He highlighted the revolutionary reforms carried out by India based on the concept of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance”.
ii.He also emphasized that Governance need to be Inclusive, Tech-Smart, Clean and transparent and Green.
iii.He also outlined priority areas for making public service more efficient such as: Ease of Living, Ease of Justice, Ease of Mobility, Ease of Innovation and Ease of Doing Business.
India’s iRASTE won the 9th GovTech Prize at WGS 2024:
India’s iRASTE (Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering) project won the 9th GovTech Prize under the “AI-Powered Government Services” category.
Tadu Mamu, Consul at the Consulate General of India in Dubai, received the award from Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
About iRASTE:
i.iRASTE is an AI-powered project under the Ministry for Road Transport and Highways(MoRTH). this is a collaborative initiative between the government, industry and academia towards advancing road safety.
ii.This aims to reduce accidents, understand the factors responsible for these events and provide solutions to mitigate them.
Note: The pilot project was implemented in Nagpur, Maharashtra in 2022. the project was implemented by Intel India, INAI(Applied AI Research Centre) at International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad (IIIT-H)(Telangana), Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)- Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi, Delhi and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M).
About GovTech Prize:
i.The “GovTech Prize” is an annual award managed by the Emirates Government Service Excellence Program (EGSEP) at the UAE Prime Minister’s Office.
ii.The award recognises government entities, central or local, worldwide to recognize creative and innovative solutions addressing challenges and/or creating exceptional government service experiences.
iii.The 9th edition of GovTech was presented in 4 categories:
| Category | 2024 Winners |
|---|---|
| AI-Powered Government Services | iRASTE (India) |
| Educational Services | Ghana Education Outcomes Project (Ghana) |
| Healthcare Services | SatuSehat (Indonesia) |
| Inclusive Digital Transformation | Digital Family Card (Kazakhstan) |
Dubai set to Launch World’s 1st Air Taxi Service by 2026
Road and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai has signed an agreement with Joby Aviation to launch the world’s 1st electric Air taxi service in Dubai, UAE by 2026.
- Under this agreement, Joby Aviation has reserved the exclusive right to operate air taxis in Dubai for 6 years.
- The initiative will utilise the Joby Aviation S4, an innovative aircraft designed to accommodate 4 passengers along with a pilot.
Points to note:
i.The Joby’s fully electric air taxi prototype can fly over 240 km (150 miles) on a single charge.
ii.It has 6 propellers and is powered by 4 battery packs.
iii.It can fly at a maximum speed of 320 km/hr or 200 miles/hr.
iv.It has the feature of vertical take-off and landing capabilities which will give a boost to urban transportation.
v.Reduced noise levels, zero operating emissions and enhanced passenger convenience are some of the benefits of air-taxi service.
UAE signed multiple agreements during WGS 2024.
On the sidelines of the WGS 2024, The Ministry of Finance of UAE signed agreements with the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the World Bank.
Details of the agreements:
i.UAE signed agreements with Kuwait and Bahrain to encourage and protect the investments; avoid double taxation, additional taxes, indirect taxes and tax evasion, and address the challenges of cross-border trade and investment flows
ii.UAE and the World Bank signed a second renewal agreement for the payable advisory services agreement between the UAE and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development(IBRD).
- The agreement was signed by Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State(MoS) Financial Affairs of UAE and Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank.
iii.UAE and Egypt signed a protocol as a supplement agreement regarding double taxation avoidance and the prevention of income tax evasion.
About United Arab Emirates(UAE):
UAE is a federation of 6 emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, and Fujairah.
Capital– Abu Dhabi
President– Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahayan
Currency– United Arab Emirates Dirham
