President Ash-Sharaa Opens Largest Arab Media Summit in Dubai
Syrian President Ahmed Ash-Sharaa opened the Arab Media Summit in Dubai with a key discussion titled "Syria of the Future." This marks the first time a Syrian head of state has participated in this event.
The three-day summit at the Dubai World Trade Centre is the largest in history, featuring over 175 sessions and more than 400 speakers from 23 countries.
Ash-Sharaa stated that escalation in the region is "not far off," but urged nations to remain calm and work together.
For the first time, UAE authorities provided comprehensive details about the cyberattacks they faced this year. Dr. Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, head of the UAE Cybersecurity Council, noted that each missile and drone strike was accompanied by a cyberattack targeting the same objective.
“Cybercrime, cyberterrorism, cyberwarfare — all of this has converged during the current crisis,” he said, calling for an international convention to regulate state behavior in cyberspace.
The UAE authorities also presented new data on the media sector. Nehal Badri, Secretary General of the Dubai Media Council, reported that the media business currently accounts for 1.4% of the emirate's GDP, up from 0.5% in 2023, when the council approved its strategy. The goal is to increase this figure to 3% by 2033. The number of registered media companies has reached 25,000.
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“It is important not only to attract companies but also to retain them here,” Badri said.
The concept of media has significantly expanded. What began as a small regional Arab Media Forum now includes eight platforms dedicated to film, gaming, podcasts, and influencers alongside journalism.
Film, Television, and Diplomacy
At the gaming forum, Safi Ismail from Yalla Group, the first UAE tech company to list on the New York Stock Exchange, spoke, and a panel discussion with UNDP about the social opportunities of gaming took place.
During the television panel, actors from Gulf series Samira Ahmed, Dawood Hussein, and Mohammed Al-Mansour participated. An exhibition of early broadcasting equipment from Gulf countries, much of which is still operational, attracted significant interest from young participants.
Dr. Ali Rashid Al-Nuaimi, Chairman of the Committee on Defense, Interior, and Foreign Affairs of the UAE Federal National Council, stated that coverage of international relations is too focused on governments.
“We need to invest in people-to-people diplomacy, and media must play a leading role in this,” he said.
He cited the humanitarian aid operation to Nepal, where floods and landslides have affected thousands of people, and where the UAE has been sending one shipment of humanitarian aid after another since early September. “We have a community of over 500,000 Nepalis living here in the UAE,” he added.
Regarding regulation, Al-Nuaimi noted that the UAE, home to representatives of approximately 200 nationalities, has only one requirement of them: “We do not ask people to change. The only thing we expect is respect for the rule of law,” he emphasized.
The article for Euronews, published on the day of the summit's opening, stated that foreign direct investment in the sector reached $1.62 billion in 2024.
The summit will run until Thursday.
