Artificial Intelligence to Take Center Stage at World Government Summit in Dubai

Chairman of the World Government Summit (WGS) Organization Mohammad al-Gergawi during a press conference held to reveal the summit's themes last January. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Chairman of the World Government Summit (WGS) Organization Mohammad al-Gergawi during a press conference held to reveal the summit's themes last January. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Artificial Intelligence to Take Center Stage at World Government Summit in Dubai

Chairman of the World Government Summit (WGS) Organization Mohammad al-Gergawi during a press conference held to reveal the summit's themes last January. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Chairman of the World Government Summit (WGS) Organization Mohammad al-Gergawi during a press conference held to reveal the summit's themes last January. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Artificial Intelligence and the next frontiers are among the main themes addressed by the upcoming World Government Summit 2024, held in Dubai on February 12-14, due to its profound impact across various key sectors and the potential major transformation it could bring to communities worldwide.

The WGS will host more than 100 personalities and leaders of giant AI companies and will bring together business owners, AI experts and major players, alongside government leaders in meetings that aim to result in solutions that empower governments to keep pace with AI developments and be fully prepared to deal with its challenges and utilize its great potential.

Such meetings also aim to create frameworks to face AI challenges through dialogue and partnerships, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM).

The list of WGS attendees also includes a host of top experts, CEOs and founders of major AI, advanced technology, and smart applications companies, and pioneers of AI integration.

The Summit agenda is full of sessions, workshops, and side events addressing the various aspects of AI and its applications. The Artificial Intelligence Forum will act as a catalyst for international cooperation and multi-sector partnerships, further driving responsible AI-centric progress for the benefit of all communities.

The Forum looks into reaching a global consensus on developing and adopting principles of responsible AI by launching global dialogues that bring together private and public sector officials. It also addresses enhancing AI capabilities by developing education and infrastructure sectors and formulating future policies.



Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.