Bringing together ICT policy, regulatory, and business leaders from across the ICT arena - spanning the SA-ME-NA, Central Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and ASEAN regions - the SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit 2025 will be held on May 26th at the Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. The theme of this year’s Summit, “Intelligent & Sustainable Transformation of Digital Economies,” reflects the urgent need for smart and sustainable approaches to accelerating digital transformation and achieving digital growth across SAMENA Council’s markets of strategic focus.
The Leaders’ Summit 2025 is a key moment in 2025 for the ICT industry to discuss the ongoing evolution of the digital landscape and the role of technology in driving economic growth and sustainable development. This year’s Summit will delve into how governments, businesses, and regulators must work hand in hand to ensure digital ecosystems and economies are supported with intelligent technologies, sustainability-oriented practices, and well-calibrated incentives for all stakeholders. The discussions will place special emphasis on the transformation of the telco model, employing smarter, innovative, and intelligent strategies for broadband development, creating new digital experiences in the digital environment where AI has become integral, and ensuring that investments in digital infrastructure continue at scale.
Reflecting the evolution of the region’s digital transformation journey, the Leaders’ Summit 2025 will explore the adoption of advanced technologies including 5G-A, AI, and cloud services, while highlighting areas where greater maturity is needed in digital economic development. Participants from the public and private sectors will have the opportunity to share insights on how national strategies—such as those implemented in the UAE—are helping shape regional and global digital trajectories.
Phillip Gan, President of Huawei Middle East & Central Asia, noted the significance of the telco and technology transformation model: "The digital transformation journey has entered a new era where intelligence and sustainability are no longer optional but fundamental pillars for growth. At Huawei, we believe the convergence of 5G-Advanced, AI, and green technologies creates unprecedented opportunities for operators to evolve from traditional telecom providers to technology-driven digital enablers. Beyond creating new revenue streams, this transformation enables resilient, sustainable digital economies that benefit everyone.”
Gan further emphasized, "Through the TechCo 1.0 framework and green site innovations, we're committed to empowering operators to lead this intelligent transformation while addressing the critical challenges of energy efficiency and carbon reduction. The SAMENA Council Leaders' Summit provides an essential platform for industry stakeholders to align our vision and collaborate on creating a more connected, intelligent, and sustainable future."
Among the key leadership activities in the Summit will be several high-profile roundtables designed to foster in-depth dialogue among a diverse group of stakeholders. One such event, a G20 Inter-Ministerial Roundtable, will serve as the first informal preparatory meeting for pre-G20 discussions. Organized in collaboration with South Africa’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies and Smart Africa, it will focus on multilateral coordination and policy harmonization in digital transformation. Another key forum—the Multi-TRA Forum chaired by TDRA-UAE—will bring together regulators and government representatives from across the GCC to address how 5G infrastructure can improve smart-city service delivery and intergovernmental digital transformation.
Additionally, a dedicated roundtable on space development and sustainability will explore the rapidly growing significance of satellite and space-based technologies in future digital ecosystems. Special attention will be given to emerging issues in Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) and preparations ahead of the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027 (WRC-27). Similarly, a roundtable on energy efficiency, will delve into innovations in the energy and sustainable power solutions for both telecom operators as well as the private sector, at large.
The Summit will also spotlight one of the industry’s most critical ongoing transitions: the evolution of telecom operators into full-fledged technology companies. This shift represents a major transformation as operators expand their roles from network providers to comprehensive digital service enablers, offering advanced technologies, super apps, and integrated service ecosystems.
Martin Creaner, Director-General of the WBBA, addressed this shift: "The widespread adoption of AI is having a profound impact on the digital transformation challenge of the telco, forcing them to embrace intelligence in every aspect of their business. Intelligence in how they build, organize and manage their infrastructure; intelligence in how they integrate themselves seamlessly into the wider ecosystems of suppliers and vertical industry customers; intelligence in how they build and operate services for customers, and capture value from data; and intelligence in how they organize themselves and develop competencies."
Creaner added: "The WBBA is exploring how its members can best adapt to the impact of AI on the communications industry and at the SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit we are excited to have the opportunity to discuss this challenge with the leaders of the industry."
The 2025 edition of the Leaders’ Summit will also bring urgent focus to emerging priorities: using AI in network operations, integrating 5G-Advanced with intelligent systems, accelerating the deployment of green technology and energy-efficient technologies and energy networks, and scaling smart-city solutions. These discussions aim to reinforce how operators, governments, enterprises, and technology providers can collaboratively ensure that digital transformation not only promotes economic growth but does so sustainably and inclusively.
Bocar BA, CEO and Board Member of SAMENA Council, in extending an invitation to the leaders of the Industry stated: “The Leaders’ Summit 2025 will highlight the importance of dialogue, collaboration, investment, intelligent and secure integration of AI in the 5G-Advanced environment, infrastructure investment, and creative applications and services that are dramatically re-defining digital transformation. The SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit, enabled by its legacy patrons and collaborators, is a critical platform for dialogue, and we invite industry leaders to join in the conversation, which focuses on subject matter ranging from energy efficiency to telco transformation, from digital enablement of regions to strategic pathways for the private sector’s growth, among other issues and opportunity areas.”
As digitalization intensifies across all sectors and geographies, the SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit 2025 will be a vital convergence point for shaping the region’s intelligent and sustainable digital future.
Source: SAMENA Council Press release
