Dubai-UAE: Speaking on the second day of the World Government Summit, taking place in Dubai, Arif Naqvi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Abraaj Group, highlighted the announcement by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, of a major government shake up as an example of disruptive government in order to enable the UAE to prepare for a future underpinned by the internet of things.

“Change is moving much faster than all of us think,” Naqvi said. “There is a change around technology. There is a change around intellectual power, the so-called knowledge economy. There is entrepreneurial freedom at a level we have not experienced before, driven essentially by connectivity. And most important of all, it is about how governments should be adapting to all these changes and doing so at speed.”

Highlighting the importance of the internet in people’s lives, Naqvi said there are 3.2 billion people connected to the world wide web, up from 400 million in 2000 and data traffic is expected to grow tenfold in the next five years, mainly in growth markets which will see another three billion smartphones in use by 2020.

“What that means for all of us is that we have to adapt. We have to be clear where the opportunity is and understand what disruption means for economies,” Naqvi explained. “New industries are being created at a very rapid speed, out of nothing. Meanwhile, peer to peer connectivity is accelerating the emergence of disruptive economies.”

In a rapidly changing world, Naqvi said the role of government should be to organize and allow private industry to grow and to be there as a partner in that progress. He stressed governments should be in the business of governance, not the business of management, leaving ownership and management to the private sector. He cited the UAE government as an example of an enabling government that other governments should emulate.

The World Government Summit has convened over 3,000 personalities from 125 countries. The summit aims to explore more than 70 topics through keynote speakers and major interactive sessions, drawing the participation of world leaders, ministers, decision makers, CEOs, innovators, officials, experts, entrepreneurs, academics, and university students. A number of initiatives, reports and studies are set to be launched during the summit and throughout the year. WGS 2016 runs until February 10 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.