Dubai hosts Asia Pacific Cities Summit 2025 at Expo City, gathering 150 mayors and 350 cities to explore smart, inclusive, and sustainable urban development.
DUBAI: In a significant global milestone, Expo City Dubai is hosting the 2025 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors’ Forum, welcoming more than 150 mayors and delegates from over 350 cities worldwide. The event, held from 27 to 29 October, marks the summit’s debut in the Middle East and reinforces Dubai’s growing status as a global hub for forward-looking urban dialogue.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, attended the summit’s opening session and reaffirmed Dubai’s commitment to shaping sustainable, inclusive, and smart cities. “Dubai’s hosting of this summit reflects the world’s trust in our development journey and our role as a collaborative platform for innovative urban solutions,” he said.
The summit features high-level panels and thought leadership sessions focused on pressing urban challenges, including affordable housing, heat resilience, digital governance, and nature-based urban development. Among the speakers were top officials from Dubai Municipality, Dubai Future Foundation, RTA, and Digital Dubai, who discussed Dubai’s agile governance and strategies like the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.
Sheikh Hamdan also met global leaders including Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, as part of a broader effort to deepen international cooperation amid accelerating urbanisation and climate change.
His Excellency Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary-General of The Executive Council of Dubai, noted: “Dubai serves as a living model of human-centric, resilient urban development—this summit allows cities to collaborate and learn from one another as we design future-ready cities.”
The event also featured remarks from Councillor Adrian Schrinner, Lord Mayor of Brisbane, the summit’s founding city, who lauded Dubai for creating what he described as the “best edition in the event’s 29-year history.”
With a strong emphasis on knowledge exchange and solution-focused dialogue, the summit serves as a catalyst for actionable change. Dubai’s hosting of the summit strengthens its role as a global innovation hub and reinforces its long-term vision to become one of the world’s most liveable and sustainable cities.
