Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, 你好.
I am happy for this opportunity to meet up with friends from Beijing and China again, all thanks to technology.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to his excellency, Abdulhamid Saeed, governor of the Central Bank of UAE, for his unwavering support of Fintech Abu Dhabi and the advancement of financial innovation. Fintech Abu Dhabi festival is the largest Fintech gathering in the Middle East and Africa region. Last year we have more than 5,000 participants from over 74 countries. The fourth edition of Fintech Abu Dhabi festival this year promises to be bigger and more exciting as we are cohosting the festival, jointly with the UAE central bank and have the strong support of industry partners. Despite the current global challenges and uncertainties, there are a number of certainties that we can count on. One, the strong bilateral relations between the People’s Republic of China and the UAE. Second, the growing needs and demands of the Middle East and Asia regions are still underserved and untapped. And 3rd, the urgency of digitalization and technological advancement.
Today’s China UAE innovation investment conference is a testament of the close bond and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, China and the UAE have maintained a deep respect, political confidence, and support of each other for decades. Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, both governments and UAE entities are working more closely to support joint activities and projects, not only to boost the Belt and Road initiative, but also the wellbeing of our economies and societies.
China and the UAE are strategically located in the centers of the world’s fastest growing populations and along the Belt and Road route. Asia’s population is expected to increase to more than five billion by 2050. And the Middle East and Africa will have more than 3 billion people. Both regions will urgently require more infrastructure, healthcare, food, energy, banking, financial services, and of course jobs to sustain their mounting needs. To cater to this massive undertaking, industries will have to turn to financial services to raise funds and facilitate their development, and rely on innovation and technology to be their fundamental enablers. Both countries can play a vital part in developing and supporting the needs of these regions. This brings us back to today’s China UAE innovation investment conference.
How and what can we do to be part of this growth story?
Today’s event is a continuation of ADGM’s efforts as an international financial center and encouraging the financial development and channeling the funding to provide vital infrastructure projects in both markets. Since the launch of the ADGM China representative office in Beijing in 2018, we continue to engage key Chinese authorities and companies to facilitate cross border activities, investment and regulatory collaborations between Abu Dhabi and China to support the Belt and Road initiative. We are glad that some members of the China Fintech community were part of the 2019 Fintech Abu Dhabi festival. And look forward to more joining us at the 2020 digital edition on 24 to 26 November. We see invaluable mutual benefits, should the China and Abu Dhabi financial and Fintech communities share relevant knowledge, exchange best practices, and collaborate on innovative projects that will serve the dynamic needs of our economies and support the neighboring regions. Our areas of collaboration could include digital payments, asset management, AI, sustainable financing, digital assets, and digital currencies, venture capital, and more. All of us can play a part to build the more digital, sustainable and resilient future. As we proceed to unpack today’s agenda, I urge all of us to take advantage of the insights and conversations that will strengthen our business, the economy, and the lives of our people.
I wish you a fruitful and rewarding conference.
Please stay safe.
Thank you very much.
