Abu Dhabi: “There is a change in the mindset of how people now see the Gulf region as one of opportunity.”

These words spoken by Sir Liam Fox, Chairman, Abraham Accords Prosperity Group during ‘The New Gravity of Power, From Washington to the Gulf’ session at BRIDGE Summit 2025, set the tone for a powerful analytical discussion on the Gulf region’s growing role as a diplomatic force, in a scenario where global media and knowledge landscape is undergoing serious and rapid transformation.

“This is the moment, this is the time for investments in this region,” Sir Liam, former UK Secretary of State for Defense observed, adding that “countries like UAE are using their economic and diplomatic strength to bolster geopolitical relationships.”

The qualified medical doctor from the University of Glasgow who has written extensively on global security and economic policy added, “investors are also attracted to the capital rich environment of the UAE because they are now aware it has a young and well-educated population”.

Taking the discussion further, Andrew Sollinger, CEO and Publisher of Foreign Policy, world’s leading geopolitical media organization, observed, while there is conflict in the region, there is also a lot of stabilization. Since joining Foreign Policy in 2018, Sollinger has led its transformation into a multi-platform intelligence and insights company, expanding its reach through subscription growth, strategic partnerships, research, events, and audio storytelling.

“What you see coming out of this country is a vision.” Christopher Isham, President, CT Intelligence at CT Group stated. “The region's strategic vision has contributed to geopolitical realignment.”

Answering the question of how AI is shaping the future of news, the award-winning investigative reporter and broadcast news executive sounded a word of caution.  “My view is we have to be careful about censorship and disinformation and misinformation.”

The multiple News & Documentary Emmy Award winner who has also received two Columbia DuPont Awards, and a Peabody Award for excellence in journalism, asserted the way to combat this is for online platforms is to work on building trust with the audience.

The erudite discussion was moderated by Resham Kotecha, Global Head of Policy at the Open Data Institute (ODI) who, with over 15 years of experience in policy and public affairs, is a regular commentator and speaker on technology, data ethics, and leadership.

The panel was part of a 300+ session program that reflects BRIDGE Summit’s scale and ambition. The debut edition of BRIDGE Summit takes place from 8–10 December 2025 at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi. For more information and to register, visit https://www.bridgesummit.com/en/