At a moment when the global economy is being reshaped by accelerating digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and the redrawing of financial and commercial centres of gravity, Dubai is emerging as one of the most prominent rising models on the world's financial map.
The emirate, which has succeeded in cementing its position as a gateway between East and West, is no longer content with the role of a traditional financial centre. It is gradually transforming into a comprehensive global platform that connects capital with technology and talent within an ecosystem that looks ahead to the economy of the future and redefines the role of financial centres in a world of intense interconnectedness and change.
Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority, told Al Bayan that over the past century, by virtue of established tradition, the flow of global money and business had been concentrated within a limited number of entrenched centres.
Those centres, thanks to their history and institutional weight, succeeded in building deep trust and powerful networks. However, the driving forces of the coming economic era — digitalisation, the realignment of geo-economic balances, the growth of emerging markets, and the rapid evolution of financial technology — are reshaping this landscape at an accelerating pace.
Amiri added: