“When Web Summit started, it attracted an overwhelmingly European and North American audience, but the changes over the past five years have been stark with the rise of participation from the Arab world,” Cosgrave said.

What kind of participation have we seen from the Arab world? Do they only cater to Arabs or are we using apps, websites, services, and devices of Arab origin without knowing it?

Cosgrave was critical of the US and European countries, saying they “find it difficult when companies from elsewhere in the world outcompete them”.

This is definitely true. The US’s favorite move to any kind of Chinese success is to try and ban it. Best example is how they forced the Netherlands to stop their golden goose ASML from sending lithography machines to China, then being completely surprised that China could make chips of their own with unexpected precision. Sure, they are a generation behind right now, but they are quickly catching up and then suddenly the West will have to actually compete with better products, instead of relying on market dominance.

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