ADFW Official Opening Ceremony Proceedings

It began as a vision. A blank canvas. A dream that began turning into reality. From sand to structure in 60 days. Against time, against limits.

A network coming to life. Built to stand. Built to connect. A network of opportunity engineered with precision. Engineered with purpose.

More than architecture. This is ambition made real. This is ambition engineered to reality. Welcome to Abu Dhabi. Welcome to ADFW.

Heat. Heat. Please. Your highness Muhammad bin Zahan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Your excellencies, distinguished guests, welcome to the most ambitious edition of Abu Dhabi Finance Week.

In only four years, Abu Dhabi ADFW has become one of the most influential financial gatherings in the world. a reflection of an economy that rises with purpose, thinks with clarity, and consistently delivers results that reshape global markets. AreW is where leaders come to get things done, to forge partnerships, to unlock capital and drive results that matter. This year, we welcome leaders from across the world, representing more than $60 trillion in assets, over half the world's GDP. But what matters most isn't just who is here, it's what brought them here.

Why Bulabi? In today's world, there's no shortage of noise and too often words outpace results. In Budhabi, we don't make claims, we deliver. So let's look at the numbers because they don't just speak, they tell the truth. For 25 years, we held a double A credit rating without a single downgrade.

17 consecutive quarters of GDP growth with 6.6% in the last quarter alone. This is not a trend, it is a record. We are the world's richest city in sovereign wealth with institutions whose decisions move industries, markets, and economies worldwide. We are the region's leading and largest international financial center.

And just today, Bouabi announced a $16 billion new major development right here on Almaria Island unmatched in the entire region. If there is one thing Bulabi cannot afford, it is to think small. Our capital markets have grown for six consecutive years with foreign investment surging four times and now accounting for more than a third of all activity. A clear signal of global investor confidence in Bhabi. We are both the safest city on earth and the most livable in the region for nine consecutive years.

A city that grew by 7.5% last year because people don't just move here, they choose to belong here. We are ranked the smartest city in the region for 5 years running and now among the top five globally and we are home to the world's first graduate university for AI because innovation here is not an inspiration, it is infrastructure. Ladies and gentlemen, this is just a glimpse of what Bulabi delivers. Not in the distant future, not in theory, not someday.

This is what Bhabi delivers now. Everything you've heard today points to one truth. Bulabi is built for what's next. Our foundation is strong. Our trajectory is undeniable.

To those who are already here, you stand with us in this success and in the momentum driving Bulabi forward. We thank you for your trust and partnership and our commitment to your success and your growth is unwavering. And I say to those who are not here yet, we are ready when you are. Thank you. Every great city is built on connections, of people, of ideas, of capital.

Here in Abu Dhabi, we imagine the future of capital and we engineer it. Peace by piece, opportunity by opportunity, connection by connection. Our strength is the ability to build relationships that endure. Partnerships that shape generations across finance, technology, and innovation. We've built a stage where the world's capital connects.

A network shaped by intelligence, trust, and opportunity. Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Engineering the Capital Network. Ladies and gentlemen, for as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by the stories beneath our land. As a child growing up in this country, I was drawn to the idea that what our ancestors left behind could still speak to us today.

That curiosity led me to study history of art and archaeology at Sarbon Abu Dhabi and to devote my work and preserving and sharing our past. At the museum, I work with objects that are far more than artifacts. They tell us who we were and who we've always been. Because thousands of years ago, this land was already connected to a wider world, trading, exchanging, shaping networks across cultures. In 2004, fragments of a vase were uncovered on Marawa Island here in Abu Dhabi.

Brought to our shores 8,000 years ago from Mesopotamia. Its story carried across seas and millennia. For me, it's more than archaeology. It's a reminder that our roots run deep. That Abu Dhabi has always been a place of connection and resilience.

And so this morning, as we begin Abu Dhabi Finance Week, I want to take us back to that beginning to a story imagined through the eyes of a young Amirati held in the fragments of humble pottery. A story that remind us who we are and what we continue to build. I invite you now to join me as we bring that story to life. Thank you. This is Al Hassan Palace and this here is El Makta Bridge.

This vase is believed to have belonged to early traders connecting civilizations across the sea. The sea rewards patience. These pearls will bring good trade. Our friends across the water will be pleased. Let's clean up and head home before the tide turns.

We'll rest. Tomorrow we'll trade. Hey,

is there good news today?

Yes, my son. We have found many, many pearls, but I'm starving. Let's go and eat. I'm going to wait for our trading friends. They're going to be coming later.

It's good to see you, old friend.

Glad to see you, too.

I've seen you brought many goods with you.

Hopefully to trade them with you.

Let me show you our village. Much has changed in a long time. And here as you see we bring the finest pallets and garments all the way from the east. It is one of the most finest we find in the world.

You must have mastered the seas.

Well, your craft never disappoints. This vase is unlike anything I've ever seen. I'll take it. It was used in many different ways long ago until a big storm buried it under the sand. People searched for it but couldn't find it until recently.

It's not me. Look at that. Did you believe it?

Yes, we found it.

And now it's here back to life for all of us to see and learn from.

Wow. Amazing. My name is Nural Mansour. I learned that Bhabi has been a place of connection for thousands of years and our leaders teach us to continue that legacy by building partnerships with people from all around the world. I promise to carry that lesson with me and to help build a future where Bhabi's connections keep growing person by person, partnership by partnership.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Bhabi Finance Week.