In this interview with Boardroom, Mr. Saleh reflects on Dubai’s winning bid, the city’s strengths as a financial and innovation hub, and his ambassadorial mission to elevate the UAE’s international profile.
Dubai will host Sibos in 2029: what role did you play in getting the event to the UAE?
Over the past several years, I have been actively engaging with SWIFT, starting during my attendance of Sibos 2022 in Amsterdam. I knew that the upcoming editions for Sibos 2025, 2026, and 2027 had already been awarded to Frankfurt, Miami, and Singapore. So, my focus was on positioning Dubai and the UAE for the next available cycle, i.e. the one that comes following SWIFT’s East–West rotational model.
Throughout 2023 and 2024, I have maintained continuous coordination, follow-up, and negotiations with SWIFT in my capacity as the Director General of UAE Banks Federation (UBF) and the Chairperson of UAE SWIFT Users Group (SUG), to position the UAE and Dubai to make a bid to host Sibos 2028/2029.
Once the bid process formally commenced in mid-2024, UBF, together with its three key partners—Dubai Business Events (DBE), part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), DIFC, and DWTC—developed a comprehensive world-class bid that highlighted Dubai’s unique strengths, capabilities, and readiness to host a global event of this scale and caliber. And our Central Bank of the UAE has continuously been our top supporter in this quest.
Our joint submission demonstrated the UAE’s, and Dubai’s specifically, strategic advantages across its infrastructure, connectivity, innovation, security, hospitality, and financial leadership, as aligned with wider national visions and ambitions such as the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33). Following its extensive evaluation, SWIFT concurrently announced in June 2025 that Paris and Dubai had been selected to host Sibos 2028 and 2029, respectively, marking a significant milestone for the city, the UAE and the wider MENA region.
Finally, the multi-year efforts of UBF, and of the three partners who joined us in 2024 (i.e. DBE/DET, DIFC, and DWTC), proved successful.
Dubai is increasingly recognized as a strategic connector between regions. In your view, what unique strengths will the city bring to Sibos as a platform for global dialogue?
Dubai today stands as one of the world’s most connected, future-ready, and innovation-minded cities, offering a unique combination of strengths that is unmatched in other global cities. First, its world-class aviation connectivity through Dubai International Airport and the extensive networks of Emirates provides direct flights from virtually every major city worldwide, making access to Dubai and the UAE seamless for international delegates.
Second, the UAE’s visa framework is one of the most facilitative globally. Our review of who the attendees of Sibos are (based on our observation of past versions attendance), we concluded that the overwhelming majority of potential Sibos attendees will either qualify for visa-free entry or will receive visas on arrival, which will be significantly simplifying travel logistics.
Third, Dubai hospitality ecosystem is exceptional. Our proposed venue, DWTC, is surrounded by thousands of premium and multi-range hotel rooms that are all within a walking distance, ensuring convenience, capacity, and comfort for all participants.
Beyond these points, UAE’s exceptional infrastructure, safety, security, culinary diversity, and world-class attractions further reinforce its appeal. Dubai, and the UAE in general, also have a consistent track record of successfully hosting major international events—such as World Government Summit, AIM Summit, ADIPEC, global medical and food conferences, and Gitex—all of which demonstrate the country’s capability and readiness to deliver an event of Sibos’s scale with utmost excellence.
In general, what are Dubai’s key assets when it comes to hosting high-profile events?
Dubai, and I mean this quite literally, is almost second to none when it comes to hosting such high-profile events. We can see this in the aforesaid mega events, or in COP28, Dubai World Cup horserace, Dubai Tennis Open, and Dubai Desert Classic Golf tournament.
The level of organization is above the charts here in the UAE, in general, and in Dubai, in particular, to the point that Dubai is now being invited to manage mega events in other locations globally, as the level of excellence in Dubai is – as I have said – near second to none. Dubai’ s global connectivity, access, city amenities, venue options, and a well-stablished infrastructure are key assets to this.
What long-term outcomes would you like Sibos 2029 to catalyze for the UAE financial sector, and where do you see the biggest opportunities?
Ambition and the continuous evolution of the financial sector have long been the drivers of growth opportunities. Many people know that one of my long-standing aspirations has always been to see UAE banks recognized as global names. We at UBF are proudly representing all our national UAE banks alongside the international institutions that are operating onshore.
For years, we have measured the size of our national banks in billions, and I have always said that I look forward to the day when we will start to speak in trillions when we talk about our UAE national banks.
Today, that moment has arrived, as both FAB and Emirates NBD—followed closely by ADCB—have surpassed the trillion-dirham mark in total assets, with FAB exceeding AED 1.4 trillion and ENBD AED 1.1 trillion.
Such scale and strength of UAE national banks merit global recognition. We believe that hosting Sibos 2029 will provide a powerful platform to elevate the international profile of our UAE banks, positioning them alongside the world’s leading financial institutions. Just as Emirates Airline has become a globally recognized brand, I for sure hope that this milestone will accelerate the global visibility and influence of our UAE banking sector.
How do you see your role as a Dubai business events ambassador? How do you engage international partners and institutions to position the UAE as a trusted hub for innovation and collaboration?
As Dubai business events ambassadors, our role is to enhance the city’s reputation as a go-to business hub for international conferences. At UBF, we view every international platform as an opportunity to further position Dubai and the UAE as global leaders in innovation. With the UAE being now firmly at the forefront of artificial intelligence development and adoption, we consistently highlight our country’s unique strengths as a hub for cutting-edge technology and future-focused financial services.
Our commitment to this agenda is reflected in the 10 international cooperation agreements that we have signed with banking associations across various countries, as well as the numerous partnerships with local authorities. Many of these collaborations are specifically designed to advance innovation, stimulate knowledge exchange, and attract global expertise to the UAE.
Moreover, with the UAE being ranked #1 globally in consumer trust in its banking sector, we believe that this foundation of trust strongly supports our innovation ecosystem, enabling faster adoption, stronger engagement, and wider impact.
To accelerate this further, we have also established a state-of-the-art Innovation Hub, with the Central Bank of the UAE, located at the Emirates Institute of Finance’s Dubai Campus. This Innovation Hub is freely open to all financial institutions and provides a regulatory sandbox environment for testing new solutions, technologies, and applications.
Together, these initiatives reinforce UAE’s position as one of the world’s most dynamic centers for financial innovation, AI, and digital transformation.
Hold your next event in Dubai and visit www.dubaibusinessevents.com