UAE Leads In Shaping The Future Of Global Trade At Davos High-Level Dialogue
The United Arab Emirates set out its vision for the future of global trade during a high-level dialogue at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where officials and experts examined how open, rules-based commerce can remain viable amid geopolitical tensions, reshaped supply chains, and shifting economic power across regions.
The session formed part of the official World Economic Forum 2026 programme and focused on whether new patterns of leadership are emerging in global trade. Participants discussed how credibility, cooperation, and policy consistency may now matter as much as economic size when guiding the international trading system.
The dialogue brought together Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, and Simon Evenett, Professor of Geopolitics and Strategy at IMD, who assessed the challenges facing the world trading system as fragmentation rises and traditional centres of influence reconsider their trade priorities and external commitments.
Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi presented the UAE’s approach to international commerce, emphasising openness, partnership, and adaptability as core principles. Al Zeyoudi explained that the UAE aims to keep markets accessible, strengthen cross-border cooperation, and respond quickly to global change while supporting a rules-based system that serves both advanced and emerging economies.
Al Zeyoudi noted that as established trade powers turn inward, the international economy increasingly needs agile and trusted partners capable of protecting open markets. According to Al Zeyoudi, the UAE intends to fill part of this space by offering reliable links between regions and providing a platform for practical dialogue.
Central to this strategy is the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership, which Dr. Al Zeyoudi described as a forward-looking framework designed to modernise trade rules, ease investment flows, and address issues such as digital trade, supply chain resilience, and sustainable growth within a more complex global environment.
Al Zeyoudi said the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership shows how collaborative leadership can maintain openness while responding to new realities. The initiative is intended to help businesses navigate uncertainty, support innovation in trade policy, and ensure that benefits are shared across both developed markets and developing economies.
The minister also highlighted the UAE’s expanding network of comprehensive economic partnership agreements, presenting it as evidence of the country’s role as a global trade hub linking East and West. Al Zeyoudi indicated that these agreements reinforce the UAE’s position as a venue for cooperation, dialogue, and workable policy solutions.
Simon Evenett examined the wider geopolitical backdrop, stating that the diffusion of economic power is allowing more actors to assume constructive leadership roles. Evenett observed that smaller and mid-sized economies with open policies, strong institutions, and diversified trade links are increasingly well placed to support stability in the global trading system.
Evenett pointed to the UAE as an example of how active trade diplomacy and carefully chosen partnerships can help sustain momentum in global commerce despite rising uncertainty. The conversation explored whether leadership in trade is moving away from reliance on a single dominant power towards a shared model among credible, cooperative countries.
Speakers discussed what effective leadership might look like under these conditions and considered how countries such as the UAE could shape future standards and practices. They underlined that aligning trade policy with wider goals, including supply chain resilience, investment facilitation, and sustainable development, will be vital for long-term success.
Participants agreed that future trade leadership will depend not only on market scale, but also on the capacity to build trust, manage change, and deliver clear benefits for companies and societies. The dialogue reflected the UAE’s active role at the World Economic Forum 2026 and its continued involvement in debates on trade, investment, and economic governance, as the country seeks to support open trade, strengthen international cooperation, and contribute to a more resilient and balanced global economy.
With inputs from WAM
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