ADFW @ADFinanceWeek

The challenges shaping our planet do not exist in isolation, and neither do the solutions. Creating a more sustainable future requires governments, businesses, investors, innovators and communities to work towards a shared ambition. One that balances environmental responsibility with economic progress and long-term resilience. This World Environment Day, we reflect on the importance of bringing diverse perspectives together to exchange ideas, challenge conventional thinking, and accelerate meaningful action. Explore last year's ADSFF sessions on YouTube and look ahead to #ADFW2026, taking place this 7–10 December. Stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming edition of ADFW.

During #ADFW2025, we had the pleasure of speaking with Bruno Lanvin, Founder & President, Descartes Institute For the Future (DIFF), who reflected on Abu Dhabi’s growing influence on global finance. Having attended ADFW for the third consecutive year, Bruno noted how the platform continues to expand in scale and international impact, becoming an increasingly important space for collaboration. This edition also marked the launch of the Financial Centre Competitiveness Index, where Abu Dhabi ranked 12th globally, reinforcing its position as a hub shaping global networks. And as events like ADFW continue to bring together leaders, institutions and innovators, that role is set to grow even more significant in the years ahead.

At @ADFinanceWeek 2025, we spoke with Mohammed Abdulmalek, Chairman and Head of Middle East at @pgim , about the evolving role of Abu Dhabi in the global investment and innovation ecosystem. He highlighted how partnerships like RealAssetX within ADGM Academy Tech Centre bring a strong sense of credibility and local grounding, enabling firms to engage more meaningfully with the market from day one. Abdulmalek also described Abu Dhabi as a city that naturally brings together different worlds and perspectives, creating an environment where ideas can move in both directions: developed locally and shared globally, while also bringing international innovation into the region to be built and scaled.

At the @MilkenInstitute Global Conference, H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of ADGM, shared that registrations have risen 5% year-on-year in the past six weeks alone — with firms managing over $4 trillion planning to establish in ADGM. Positioned at the intersection of the Global South and Global North, ADGM continues to enable firms to scale, connect, and grow within a trusted regulatory environment. Watch the full conversation here: vimeo.com/event/5899975

Driving the conversation on the future of global finance at the @MilkenInstitute Global Conference, H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi , Chairman of ADGM shared how Abu Dhabi’s long-term vision, resilience, and institutional strength continue to position ADGM at the forefront of international financial centres—bridging global capital, capability, and connectivity in an increasingly multipolar world. Watch the full session here: vimeo.com/event/5899975

At the @MilkenInstitute Global Conference, H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of ADGM, offered a view of how the UAE approaches growth. He spoke about the importance of staying flexible while making deliberate choices about where to invest next. Over the years, that has meant gradually stepping away from reliance on hydrocarbons and putting real focus behind sectors that are expected to shape the future. So rather than reacting to change, the UAE has made a habit of preparing for it, setting aside the capacity, resources and focus needed to support emerging areas like AI as they take shape. Watch the full video here: vimeo.com/event/5899975

في هذه المقابلة، يناقش قادة من القطاع المالي كيف أصبح النفوذ المالي أكثر انتشارًا على مستوى العالم، وكيف بدأت مناطق جديدة في ترسيخ حضورها، فيما تحوّلت تقنيات كانت تُعد هامشية في السابق إلى جزء أساسي من التفكير المالي السائد. وخلال الاجتماع السنوي للمنتدى الاقتصادي العالمي في دافوس، سويسرا، تطرّق المتحدثون إلى اندماج الأصول الرقمية مع التمويل التقليدي، وتغيّر موازين الثقل الاقتصادي، وظهور أشكال جديدة من التعاون الإقليمي، مقدّمين رؤى حول كيفية تكيّف المؤسسات مع هذه التحولات وأين قد تتبلور فرص المستقبل. تابعوا هذه المقابلة لاكتشاف ما قد تحمله هذه التحولات لمستقبل النظام المالي العالمي.

In this interview, industry leaders discuss how financial influence is becoming more distributed, new regions are asserting themselves, and technologies once seen as peripheral are now part of mainstream financial thinking. During the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, they examined the integration of digital assets with traditional finance, the changing balance of economic gravity and the rise of new forms of regional cooperation, offering insight into how institutions are adapting and where opportunity may lie in the years ahead. Watch this interview to learn what this shift could mean for the future of the system.

During the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, leaders from across the global financial ecosystem discussed how technology is reshaping finance. Rachel Conlan, GCMO at @binance, highlighted how AI integration across user journeys accelerates financial platforms while making them more responsive to real-world needs. Ronit Ghose, Global Head of Future of Finance at @Citi, focused on finance as an enabler,emphasising how real-time payments transformed domestic markets, with seamless cross-border transactions as the next milestone. Bruno Lanvin, President at the Descartes Institute For the Future (DIFF), brought a longer-term lens, exploring how AI, quantum computing and advanced technologies create both opportunity and complexity. ADFW captured these perspectives, showing finance's future will be defined by technology, but shaped by trust, talent empowerment and human-centered design.

At #ADFW2025, H.E. Dubravka Šuica set out a vision for the next chapter of cooperation between the EU and the Gulf. ​ In her keynote, she underscored that the green transition has become a shared strategic priority, one that demands aligned policy, meaningful investment and long-term partnership.​ She highlighted that the EU and the GCC are entering a new phase of collaboration, with fresh negotiations now underway to build a framework capable of accelerating clean-energy projects, strengthening economic ties and supporting businesses on both sides.​ The path to sustainable growth, as she puts it, will be shaped by regions willing to work side by side, matching technical expertise with political will.

Today’s #ADFW2025 panel ‘SpaceTech for a Planet in Balance’ highlighted that the future of sustainability isn’t only being shaped on Earth. Industry leaders revealed how satellite intelligence, orbital monitoring and space-driven engineering are becoming essential tools for tackling climate risk, managing scarce resources and strengthening global resilience. What stood out most was the shared recognition that space technology is no longer a distant, experimental field; it’s now a practical driver of real-world outcomes like sharper environmental data and entirely new models of collaboration.

Technology has become the engine that enables scale, inclusion and long-term resilience in the Islamic Finance sector. Speakers at ‘Going Digital: Enabling Growth through Islamic Finance Innovation’ revealed how smarter digital infrastructure, new asset models and more agile banking tools are helping Islamic finance serve a broader, more diverse community of users. The conversation pointed to a future where Islamic finance keeps its core principles, but delivers them through systems designed for a faster, more connected world.

At #ADFW2025, Linda Fitz-Alan, Registrar and CEO of ADGM Courts, delivered a keynote that reframed how we think about leadership and inclusion in finance. She highlighted that progress isn’t just about participation. It’s about meaningful impact, balance and shared influence. As finance evolves at the intersection of technology, inclusion and leadership, embracing balance—gender, perspective and responsibility—is not only the right thing to do, but a strategic advantage for institutions and economies alike. The session celebrated women leaders who are shaping the future, not just for themselves, but for the broader financial ecosystem.

At today’s Climate Finance Architect’s Board, held in partnership with the Global Climate Finance Centre (@gcfcentre), we tackled a pressing question: How do we turn climate ambition into deployable capital at scale? In a boardroom-style setting, CEOs, policymakers and senior advisors sat at the same table to focus on the practical levers: regulatory clarity, blended-finance structures, investor confidence, and new models for transition funding. The conclusion? The region has the appetite and the needed to shape how climate projects are financed, built and scaled in the years ahead.

Salem Mohammed Al Darei opened the 8th Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum (ADSFF) at #ADFW2025. He spoke about Abu Dhabi’s growing role as a global climate-finance hub, where regulation, innovation and investment now move in step. The progress is tangible: stronger ESG frameworks, new transition-finance structures, a broader ecosystem of signatories, and a financial centre attracting thousands of firms and billions in managed assets. The highlight was that real shift happens when capital, talent and climate ambition meet in the same place, and are given the systems, data and governance to create impact.

Day 3 of #ADFW2025 spotlighted Abu Dhabi as a hub for financial innovation, bringing together over 24 MoUs signed with major local and international partners. Fintech Abu Dhabi, the MENA region’s largest fintech gathering, hosted global leaders to explore topics from digital credit and tokenisation to AI adoption and next-gen banking. RESOLVE focused on Courage, featuring keynotes from H.E. Abdullah bin Sultan Al Nuaimi and ADGM Courts’ CEO Linda Fitz-Alan, emphasising Abu Dhabi’s leadership in legal innovation and dispute resolution. Major events like AI Abu Dhabi, Blockchain Abu Dhabi, and Risk 4.0 provided insights into emerging technologies and risk management.

Step into the Executive Lounge, the place to be for the industry’s biggest names at ADFW. It’s where CEOs, Chairpersons, Presidents and Founders of organisations, alongside global leaders, market experts, and policymakers, gather under one roof to connect, collaborate, and exchange ideas. With its premium design, elegant atmosphere, and world-class hospitality, the lounge sponsored by Hanwha, sets the stage for high-level conversations and meaningful moments throughout #ADFW2025.

At #ADFW2025, H.E. Abdullah bin Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Justice (@MOJ_UAE), delivered a keynote that spoke to the nation’s legal achievements, and to the conviction with which they have been built. ​ His Excellency noted that the UAE now stands first in the MENA region in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index for 2025. ​ Reflecting on a judiciary shaped by clarity, transparency and a respect for fairness, one that has evolved from the vision of the nation’s founding leadership into a framework recognised internationally for its rigour and reliability, he affirmed that the UAE is defining how justice should function in the modern age.