Day two of the Arab Media Summit in Dubai was dominated by the Euronews Forum, where ministers from the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Georgia took the stage to discuss how nations craft and control their own narratives in a turbulent region.
UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri was asked whether recent shocks had unsettled the Gulf. His answer was emphatic: economies in the region are not built for recovery but for the next storm. "We do not design economies on recovery. We design the economy for future storms, exactly. For the next crisis that we are ready for. And we will be prepared," he said.
Al Marri stressed that resilience cannot be purchased. "Yes, the storm has hit. Yes, our banks stood still. Our government stood still. But resilience is built," he added. "And resilience is the insurance of economies. And that's the kind of mindset and the policy we're putting into what we design today."
On crisis communication, he was equally direct: "When a crisis or when a storm hits the shores, communication shouldn't be louder. Communication should be constant." He summed up the Dubai approach as: "Think it, say why, say how, then go and do it."
Peace and disinformation in the Caucasus
Alongside him, Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, made the case for Baku's peace process with Armenia, which was formalised in a joint declaration signed in Washington in August 2025. "We won in the war, but we are winning in the peace," he said. He also noted Azerbaijan's accession to the Central Asian leaders' platform, expanding the grouping from five to six members.
Georgia's Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili completed the panel. Both she and Hajiyev said their countries have been targets of sustained disinformation campaigns. Botchorishvili's remarks come as Tbilisi continues to push for a more serious EU enlargement agenda, a topic she has addressed before, urging Brussels to take the process seriously.
Elsewhere at the summit, UAE Minister of State Noura Al Kaabi told a session on media and diplomacy that public diplomacy becomes most valuable when traditional political channels are blocked. She welcomed the recent warming between Abu Dhabi and Damascus, including Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's visit to the UAE, and praised an initiative by Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak to restore the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
On misinformation, Al Kaabi argued that the answer lies in engagement, speed and credibility. She called on young people to verify what they see before sharing it further.
Airlines, AI and human creativity
In a separate session on building a global airline, Boutros Boutros, chief marketing officer of the Emirates Group, was pragmatic about the role of technology. "We are humans after all," he said. "Making the best use of technology calls for expertise, and this is the key, not the technology itself."
He noted that translation tools now allow communication in dozens of languages at the click of a button, but the real challenge remains finding creative minds who can connect with people in unique ways. Discussing disruptions—from strikes to geopolitics to technical faults and weather—he said an airline's job is to limit damage to passengers and preserve their trust. "We always challenge ourselves to be the best. We can't always be the best in everything," he admitted.
The summit also drew information ministers from Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon. The programme covered a wide range of topics, including the international reach of Arab cinema, television made for TikTok, women in Arab drama, and the reliability of medical advice from influencers. A panel examined Lebanon's new media law, and the Oscar-nominated documentary From Inside Gaza was screened, a film that has already sparked political controversy in Israel.
The Arab Media Summit, now in its 25th year, has expanded its global reach, reflecting Dubai's ambition to become a central hub for media and storytelling in the region. As the event continues, the message from the stage is clear: the region wants to define its own narrative, on its own terms.
