Most Reformed Government Global Award Honours Paraguay President At World Governments Summit In Dubai

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan presented His Excellency Santiago Peña Palacios, President of the Republic of Paraguay, with the Most Reformed Government Global Award during the World Governments Summit in Dubai, recognising Paraguay’s recent record of reform in governance, transparency, and public sector modernisation.

The award ceremony took place during the summit held in Dubai from 3rd to 5th February, which drew broad international participation. Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and a number of Sheikhs, ministers, senior officials, and heads of state or their representatives attending the World Governments Summit 2026 were also present.

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The World Governments Summit is designed as an international platform where governments and experts discuss future governance models, share experiences, and explore collaborative partnerships. It reflects the UAE’s strategy to provide an open arena for policy dialogue, highlighting practical examples of government innovation and reform that influence people’s lives now and in the long term.

Within this framework, the Most Reformed Government Global Award recognises countries that achieve high international benchmarks in governance quality, transparency, sustainable development, and digital government. The award is structured around selected global indicators that trace how national reform efforts support innovation pathways and deliver measurable improvements in public administration.

To select the recipient, the World Governments Summit evaluates nominations based on economic progress, the resilience of governance systems, institutional performance, and the strength of development-focused policymaking. The assessment is completed in cooperation with knowledge partner Ernst & Young, using a structured approach that balances quantitative results and qualitative evidence of reform.

The award’s methodology is built around several core pillars that examine public sector reform from different angles, including transparency, digital transformation, governance, long-term development impact, ecosystem sustainability, and citizen-centric innovation. These pillars are applied using international indicators and national data to ensure consistent and comparative evaluation of government performance and reform impact.

The transparency and accountability pillar reviews how reform initiatives support the national strategic agenda and shape future governance approaches. It considers how policies align with national priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals, the strength of long-term reform visions, and the policies behind them, as well as improvements in resilience, competitiveness, and attention to citizens’ needs.

The digital transformation pillar measures how governments rethink processes and service delivery models using modern technology. It considers the originality of reform concepts, the extent of digital, structural, procedural, or cultural change, and whether forward-looking or experimental governance practices are introduced to reshape how institutions operate and interact with the public.

World Governments Summit government innovation and governance focus

The governance pillar focuses on how reforms are executed in practice. It examines the robustness of implementation processes, clarity of governance models, and coordination among stakeholders. Criteria cover how responsibilities and accountability are defined, the effectiveness of cooperation between entities and sectors, leadership commitment, and efforts to build institutional capabilities for sustained reform.

The development and self-improvement pillar analyses quantifiable outcomes from reform programmes. It looks at gains in efficiency, quality, accessibility, and cost rationalisation across government services. It also assesses improvements in citizen satisfaction, trust, and inclusion in policies and services, together with the long-term systemic influence on governance frameworks and national development trajectories.

The award further considers how reforms contribute to an integrated governance ecosystem. This includes the durability of reform measures, how well new policies and procedures are embedded in organisational structures, and the financial and operational sustainability of changes. The criteria also look at the potential to replicate or scale reforms at regional, national, or international levels.

The citizen-centric innovation pillar evaluates how inclusive and transparent the reform process is, measuring the depth of citizen engagement and the integration of feedback into decision-making. It also reviews partnerships with the private sector, academia, and civil society, in addition to the strength of communication and transparency tools that keep the public informed and engaged.

World Governments Summit leadership, governance recognition and government innovation

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan affirmed that strengthening government capabilities is a vital priority for states preparing for future challenges. His Highness highlighted that governments need strong capacity to anticipate change and respond ahead of fast transformations through an operational mindset rooted in efficiency, excellence, innovation, and proactive planning.

His Highness added that this long-term commitment enables governments to create meaningful impact within their communities and secure a prosperous future for coming generations. Such an approach supports stability and sustainable development, while ensuring that public institutions remain responsive, capable, and aligned with evolving social and economic expectations across different sectors.

His Highness added, "I congratulate the Republic of Paraguay and His Excellency President Santiago Peña Palacios on this well-deserved recognition with the Most Reformed Government Global Award. Paraguay has set an inspiring example of advancing government work based on efficiency, excellence, innovation, transparency, and good governance. I wish Paraguay and all nations around the world further success in serving their societies and driving prosperity and progress."

The World Governments Summit positions itself as an incubator for government innovation and as a platform that highlights notable achievements by leaders, entities, and public initiatives worldwide. Through its awards, it honours the Best Minister, Best Teacher, best technological solutions, edge–of-government innovations, and future-readiness enhancing experiences, along with practices and projects that support sustainability, reflecting its mission to share government knowledge and recognise the most distinguished models of government work, as underlined by Paraguay’s recognition with the Most Reformed Government Global Award.

With inputs from WAM