During a session at the Forbes Middle East Summit… Abdullah Al Hamed: The cohesive national narrative is the compass for global investments… and reputation is a sovereign economic asset for countries

Abu Dhabi, June 23 / WAM / His Excellency Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed, Chairman of the National Media Authority, stressed that a cohesive national narrative is one that transforms economic achievements into a globally understood message, stressing that it has become the compass that directs the path of global investment flows and determines the direction of major capital towards more confident and stable environments by presenting an integrated story that reflects the country’s vision and its ability to build the future.

His Excellency pointed out that the Emirati media is no longer satisfied with reporting numbers and results, but rather presents a comprehensive story about vision, stability and opportunities, in a way that enhances the world’s confidence in our economy and turns achievement into value and impact, pointing out that the investment decision does not begin with numbers, but rather with the impression that forms on the investor before he opens any spreadsheet; The contemporary investor reads a newspaper, follows a report, and listens to an economic podcast, which constitutes the mental and psychological framework through which he will read numbers and data later, as part of his constant search for the environment that embraces his investment, and for the story of the country that he wants to be a part of.

His Excellency said during a dialogue session at the Forbes Middle East Summit entitled “Building Tomorrow’s Narrative: How Does Media Shape the Future of Countries, Cities, and Economies?”: The media in today’s world goes beyond being a mirror that reflects events, to become a national infrastructure par excellence. Just as countries build their ports and airports to organize the movement of goods and people, they build their media strategies to organize the movement of meaning, credibility, and creating trust.

His Excellency added that the mental image of the country is not an incidental media product, but rather a cumulative result of what the country says about itself and what the world sees of its achievements, stressing that the wise leadership of the UAE realized early on that the media is not a separate sector from the development process, but rather a real partner in achieving its goals. Every development project needs a narrative that explains its value, every achievement needs a context that explains its impact, and every future vision needs a discourse that has the tools to influence and penetrate the global scene.

His Excellency stressed that the power of countries has now gone beyond traditional standards based on economic and military capabilities, to be based primarily on their strategic competence in building trust and communicating their story to the world in an influential and convincing language, through a cohesive national narrative that turns achievement into credibility, credibility into influence, and influence into an established international presence.

His Excellency pointed out that countries today are not only competing for infrastructure or economic facilities, but are also competing for their ability to build a mental image that makes them a preferred destination for living, working and investing, stressing that international reputation has become one of the economic assets that enhances the ability to attract capital, talents and companies.

His Excellency the Chairman of the National Media Authority added that the UAE’s experience provides a clear model of how to employ media as part of a development project, as the Emirati narrative is based on a tangible reality of projects, achievements and transformations, explaining that our national media does not create an alternative image of reality, but rather conveys a successful reality in a global language capable of reaching and influencing.

Regarding the stability of the national narrative during crises, His Excellency stressed that the strength of the Emirati narrative came from the clarity of the vision and the continuity of the development project, explaining that the UAE is a country that has a real strategy that does not change its story with changing circumstances, but rather maintains its principles and develops its tools.

He pointed out that the UAE built its narrative on firm foundations that include stability, development, tolerance, openness, and investment in people and the future.

His Excellency explained that the difference between media strategy and public relations is that public relations defends the image, while the strategy builds a reality that ensures the sustainability of the image, pointing out that the strength of the Emirati narrative came from the correspondence of the message with practice, as what the state says to the world is an extension of what is achieved on the ground.

Speaking about the national media identity, His Excellency stressed that a successful national brand is not built through media campaigns and propaganda, but rather through achievements that turn into a story that the world understands. He explained that the UAE’s success in building its national media identity came as a result of the convergence of a clear vision for the future, institutional performance capable of achieving results, and the ability to communicate with the world in a modern and open language.

His Excellency the Chairman of the National Media Authority pointed out that the strength of national identity is linked to its ability to combine authenticity and ambition, and to preserve roots and values ​​while being open to the world and its changes, pointing out that the UAE has been able to transform its geographical location into an opportunity, challenges into projects, and vision into work systems, which has strengthened its global presence and consolidated its narrative based on innovation, tolerance, investment in people, and anticipating the future.

In terms of technological transformations, His Excellency addressed the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of media, stressing that it represents a major transformation that redefines the relationship between the audience and content, and provides broad opportunities in data analysis, content customization, and accelerating production, but at the same time it imposes challenges related to credibility, verification, and the spread of misleading content.

His Excellency stressed that the future of the media will not belong to the one who produces the largest amount of content, but rather to the one who has the highest levels of trust. He explained that advanced technology is capable of producing text, images and sound, but it cannot alone produce credibility and values. He noted that the future equation is to employ artificial intelligence to enhance the role of humans and not replace them.

His Excellency stressed that the real challenge facing the media today is no longer reaching the public, but rather gaining its trust, in light of an unprecedented flow of information, pointing out that the influential media is the one capable of combining speed and accuracy, technology and responsibility, and global presence and national identity.

His Excellency the Chairman of the National Media Authority concluded his speech: Emphasizing that national reputation has become an intangible economic capital for countries. Just as companies have trademarks with market value, countries also have a balance of trust and global impression, noting that a country that has a strong reputation is more capable of building relationships, attracting opportunities, and strengthening its position in the global economy.

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