At Expo City Dubai this week, the city’s skyline was far more than a backdrop. The 2025 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors’ Forum arrived in the UAE with the weight of global expectation and a record attendance of over 15,000 urban leaders, policymakers, and innovators from more than 600 cities. For the first time in its 30-year history, the summit found a home in the Middle East, turning Dubai into a meeting ground where the future of city living was discussed in detail.
Under the dome of Al Wasl Plaza, once the centerpiece of Expo 2020, the gathering opened with optimism and intent. “Collaborate. Inspire. Transform.” was the theme, but the dialogue focused on the tangible: better governance, fair regulation, and digital systems that serve citizens effectively.
For three days, city leaders shared their experiences on urban challenges that stretch from climate adaptation to digital governance. The RegTech, as a Dubai-based company specializing in digital platforms, followed the conversations with great interest. The summit reflected what we have long believed: the most successful cities are not those that expand the fastest, but those that manage growth through trust, data, and accountability.
5 Key Takeaways
- Dubai Takes Center Stage in Global Urban Dialogue: Hosting the Asia Pacific Cities Summit for the first time in the Middle East positions Dubai as a hub for discussing the future of city governance, digital transformation, and accountability.
- Digital Governance Emerges as the Core Theme: Across panels and discussions, leaders emphasized that technology alone isn’t progress; it’s the transparency, traceability, and fairness of digital systems that define modern governance.
- The RegTech Perspective Gains Relevance: The RegTech’s focus on compliance, fiscal integrity, and citizen trust directly aligns with the summit’s call for measurable accountability in public administration.
- Trust and Accountability Define Future Cities: The conversations made clear that the most successful cities will be those that build public trust through clear regulations and reliable data-driven governance.
- Expo City Dubai Becomes a Symbol of Continuity: Using the former Expo 2020 and COP28 site as the venue highlighted Dubai’s commitment to linking climate action, innovation, and good governance in one coherent urban vision.
Asia Pacific Cities Summit: A Global Dialogue Rooted in Governance
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, opened the summit by reaffirming Dubai’s role as a platform for cooperation among city leaders, experts, and policymakers. His address was precise and forward-looking. “We are committed to keeping Dubai a platform that brings together city leaders, experts, and decision-makers to explore solutions that balance economic development, environmental sustainability, and quality of life,” he said.
The message resonated because it matched the lived reality of the attendees. Furthermore, Mayors and ministers across the Asia Pacific region have shown that they understand that digital transformation must come with transparency. From urban transport to taxation, from environmental monitoring to data management, progress now depends on systems that can be trusted.
This is the space where The RegTech operates, where compliance technology meets public service. The idea is unpretentious but powerful: when governance is digitized, accountability becomes measurable. Cities can strengthen confidence between governments, businesses, and citizens by embedding digital oversight into everyday operations.
Thirty Years of Urban Cooperation
Organized by Brisbane City Council and hosted by Expo City Dubai, the 2025 Asia Pacific Cities Summit represents the fifteenth edition of a dialogue that began in 1996. What started as a regional event in Brisbane has evolved into a global platform for sharing urban strategies. Adrian Schrinner, Lord Mayor of Brisbane, spoke about the summit’s original purpose to bring cities together. “Now it’s about keeping them together in a world that’s changing faster than we can plan,” he said.
This sentiment ran through every panel and breakout discussion. The summit’s three strategic themes, connecting communities through transportation and digital infrastructure, developing technology driven public services, and building cities capable of facing environmental and economic challenges, formed a structure that allowed participants to move from concept to implementation.
Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, set the tone during the opening at Al Wasl Plaza. “Cities are where the global future will be decided,” she said. Her words framed the event as a working session for problem solvers.
Asia Pacific Cities Summit: Building Trust into the Digital Fabric
Dubai’s participation was not symbolic. Over the last two decades, the city has built a reputation for planning that is both ambitious and measurable. Its 2040 Urban Master Plan and UAE Centennial Plan 2071 have turned long-term vision into actionable policy. For The RegTech, these plans are practical case studies in how digital systems can make complex governance tasks more transparent and enforceable.
Cities that embrace digital regulation are better positioned to improve public confidence and fiscal integrity. The summit offered several examples of this approach in action from smart permitting systems to real-time tax reporting platforms. As a company deeply involved in these areas, The RegTech views Dubai’s hosting of the Asia Pacific Cities Summit as a sign of regional readiness to adopt fair and traceable digital processes in government administration.
The conversations surrounding data, digital platforms, and compliance were especially relevant to our work. Fiscal transparency, once seen as an internal government concern, is now central to global competitiveness. A city’s credibility depends not just on infrastructure but on the reliability of its digital records and the fairness of its digital systems.
A Venue with a Legacy
Holding the event at Expo City Dubai, the same site that hosted COP28, was both symbolic and strategic. It reminded participants that climate action, urban design, and digital policy are intertwined. The “UAE Consensus” reached at COP28 highlighted the need for data-driven accountability in environmental commitments. That same logic now extends to urban management, where reliable data supports everything from emission tracking to housing regulation.
Conversations about digital infrastructure often circled back to the same challenge: implementation. Governments may understand the potential of digital systems, but they need guidance to make them work across agencies and jurisdictions. That is precisely where regulatory technology, our core expertise, plays a crucial role.
Asia Pacific Cities Summit: From Local Examples to Global Lessons
Among the international delegates, one comment stood out. Linda Pereira, Secretary General of the Portuguese Speaking Countries Business Confederation, representing a market of 250 million people across Africa, Asia, and South America, praised India’s balanced approach to urban digitalization. “Technology is not the goal, it’s the means,” she said. Consequentially, her observation captured the sentiment of the entire summit. Cities must use technology to serve people, not the other way around.
For The RegTech, this philosophy aligns with how we approach digital governance. Every digital tool must support transparency, compliance, and accessibility. The end result is not just efficiency, but fairness.
A Moment of Clarity for Urban Futures
As the final day of the Asia Pacific Cities Summit approached, discussions turned to outcomes. Delegates spoke of stronger global alliances, shared data initiatives, and investments in infrastructure that would serve both economic and social goals. The delegates focused their conversations on the shared belief that cities of tomorrow must build trust and accountability.
Dubai’s hosting of the summit reinforced its position as a bridge between continents. Also, it serves as a testing ground for modern governance. For The RegTech, the event confirmed what our work in digital regulation has already shown: transparency measures progress more effectively than speed.
Finally, cities across the world are seeking ways to modernize without losing public confidence. The 2025 Asia Pacific Cities Summit has shown that the answers lie in cooperation, digital trust, and well-regulated systems that put people first. Dubai, with its commitment to long-term vision and measurable results, has become a living example of that principle.
We are here to help governments, financial institutions, and businesses to effectively comply with growing regulatory requirements through technology.
