12th Global Residence and Citizenship Conference in Dubai: Henley & Partners

More than 400 delegates from over 40 countries are expected to attend the 12th annual Global Residence and Citizenship Conference, which takes place this week (4–6 November) at the Mina A’Salam Hotel in Dubai.

Hosted by leading international citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, this annual event has become the world’s largest and most significant conference on investment migration, bringing together presidents, prime ministers, senior government ministers and officials, leading academics, experienced industry professionals, and top-tier financial and business media.

The 2018 conference program features sophisticated, cutting-edge content on the major developments shaping investment migration and geopolitics today, offering delegates the opportunity to engage with the leading minds and ideas driving the growing trend towards global citizenship and interconnectivity.

Dominic Volek, Managing Partner of Henley & Partners Singapore and Head of Southeast Asia, says of the event’s relevance: “In Singapore and the surrounding Southeast Asia region, there has been keen interest in alternative residence and citizenship. These investment migration programs generate an extraordinary amount of societal and economic value given the freedom, flexibility, and future-readiness, both for the countries issuing these programs and for the individuals participating in them. Today, citizenship-by-investment has grown into a roughly USD 3 billion industry, while residence-by-investment exceeds tens of billions of dollars each year.”

Headlining the conference will be artificial intelligence sensation Sophia, the world’s first-ever robot-citizen. Sophia will introduce an exclusive panel debate on the battle for digital supremacy being waged between the global superpowers and on what this new technological climate means for the future of global citizenship. Among the panelists participating will be Taavi Kotka, former CIO for the Government of Estonia and pioneer of the country’s ‘digital nation’ and ‘e-Residency’ initiatives.

Present at the conference will be the President of Montenegro, H.E. Milo Đukanović, and the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure for the Republic of Moldova, H.E. Chiril Gaburici. Montenegro and Moldova introduced the latest citizenship-by-investment programs this year.

In anticipation of the event, President Đukanović made the following statement: “We are delighted to be able to showcase our country’s inaugural citizenship-by-investment program to the investment migration community and to the world. We have spent several years developing and refining our offering, to ensure that it delivers maximum, long-term value to the people of Montenegro, and we are very proud of the program that we are now presenting.”

Commenting on the Moldova Citizenship-by-Investment (MCBI) program, which will be officially launched at the conference, H.E. Gaburici said, “the MCBI program will provide our economy with much-needed foreign direct investment that will enhance the daily lives of all Moldovans, while strict due diligence standards and compliance procedures will guarantee the credibility and sustainability of the program.”

Other notable key speakers at the conference include H.E. Vitalie Iurcu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure of the Republic of Moldova; the Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis; the Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis; and Peter S. Vincent, Assistant Director General for International Policy at BORDERPOL and General Counsel for Thomson Reuters.

In a talk entitled ‘Nature, Nurture, and Nationality’, Prof. Dr. Dimitry Kochenov will discuss the latest edition of the Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index, revealing how the quality of a nationality affects the global distribution and movement of wealth and talent.

Other highly topical sessions in this year’s program include ‘A Changing World: Where Are We Going and How Are We Getting There?’, ‘Two Years with Trump: The New Trade Wars and What They Mean for Democracy and Investment Migration’, and ‘Stimulating Economic Growth through Transformative Foreign Direct Investment Policies’.

This prestigious event will be co-hosted by Tariq Qureishy, Founder and CEO of MadTalks, Dubai, and Katie Fielder, Dubai-based journalist and broadcaster.

The conference will conclude with a gala dinner on Tuesday 6 November, during which the 2018 winner of the Global Citizen Award® will be announced. The award is presented each year to an inspiring individual who has made an extraordinary and courageous contribution to the global community.