Heads of State & Government
Senior representatives of national leadership.
Inaugural Edition · 2026
World BusinessDiplomacy Summit
21 October 2026
Great HallThomas Jefferson BuildingLibrary of CongressCapitol Hill · Washington, D.C.Where diplomacy meets business. Where ideas shape the future.
Founded & Convened by Business Diplomat
Partnership EnquiriesWashington, D.C. · 21 October 2026
01The Summit
A new global platform for business diplomacy
The inaugural World Business Diplomacy Summit brings together leaders from diplomacy, government, business, academia and international institutions in Washington, D.C. for a high-level exchange on the changing relationship between commerce, diplomacy and global cooperation.
At a time when geopolitical fragmentation, economic transformation and new corridors of connectivity are reshaping international relations, the Summit creates a platform for trusted dialogue between those who influence governments, markets, institutions and ideas.
Founded and convened by Business Diplomat, the Summit represents the beginning of a long-term global platform dedicated to advancing business diplomacy as an instrument of international understanding, economic cooperation and shared prosperity.
- Edition
- I
- The first World Business Diplomacy Summit.
- The building
- 1897
- The year the Thomas Jefferson Building opened to the public.
- October 2026
- 21
- A single day, in Washington, D.C.
- Room
- 1
- One running order, attended together rather than chosen between.
02Founded & Convened by
The World's First Think-Do Tank on the Modern Silk Road
The World Business Diplomacy Summit was established by Business Diplomat as its flagship global convening platform — dedicated to advancing business diplomacy, international cooperation and trusted relationships between governments, businesses, institutions and markets.
Business Diplomat brings research, international engagement and global convening together in a single institution. The Summit is where that work meets the people it concerns.
The Institution- 01The Summit
World Business Diplomacy Summit
The flagship global convening platform.
- 02Founding & Convening Institution
Business Diplomat
The World's First Think-Do Tank on the Modern Silk Road.
Founder and convener of the World Business Diplomacy Summit.
- 03Founder of Business Diplomat
Mirshod Shakirov, FRSA, FRAS
Founder & Executive Chairman, Business Diplomat.
- 04Patron of the Inaugural Edition
Cristina Reyes
Former President of the Andean Parliament.
Patron of the Washington, D.C. inaugural edition.
Convening
Who will be in the room?
The Summit is designed to convene decision-makers from across government, diplomacy, business and ideas — in a single room, under a single conversation.
01 02 Ambassadors & Diplomats
Members of the resident and visiting diplomatic community.
03 Global Business Leaders
Chief executives and chairs of international enterprises.
04 Policymakers
Ministers, legislators and senior officials.
05 Investors & Entrepreneurs
Founders, funds and capital allocators operating across borders.
06 International Institutions
Multilateral bodies, development banks and standards organisations.
07 Academics & Experts
Researchers and authors shaping the intellectual agenda.
08 Global Delegations
Institutional, governmental and business delegations from many regions.
One room. Multiple regions. A shared language of business diplomacy.
The Intersection
Five disciplines, one conversation
- 01Diplomacy
- The practice of trusted relationships between states, institutions and the people who represent them.
- 02Business
- Enterprise as a participant in international relations, not merely a beneficiary of them.
- 03Policy
- The frameworks that determine whether cooperation between markets is possible.
- 04Leadership
- The individual judgement that turns an international relationship into a durable one.
- 05Ideas
- The research, doctrine and argument that give economic cooperation its direction.
05The Anchor
Why Washington, D.C.?
Washington, D.C. — the global anchor of the Summit
- 38° 53′ 19″ N
- 77° 00′ 17″ W
The inaugural Summit is intentionally anchored in Washington, D.C., one of the world's most consequential centres of diplomacy, policy and international decision-making.
Washington provides the natural setting for a new global conversation connecting diplomacy with business and translating international relationships into practical economic cooperation.
Washington, D.C.
06The Venue
Great Hall
Thomas Jefferson Building · Library of Congress
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Opened in 1897, the Thomas Jefferson Building was conceived as a statement about the permanence of knowledge in public life. Its Great Hall — marble, mosaic and vaulted light — remains one of the most distinguished interiors in the United States.
The inaugural World Business Diplomacy Summit convenes in this setting deliberately. The architecture of the room is part of the argument the Summit makes about seriousness, continuity and public purpose.
01The ceiling and cove 
02The zodiac in the floor 
03The second-floor arcade
Preliminary Programme
Programme highlights
The programme of the inaugural edition is structured around the formal opening of a new institution and the international launch of the ideas behind it. Sessions, timings and participants are being confirmed and will be published as they are.
- 02
Inaugural Welcome
Opening of the inaugural World Business Diplomacy Summit.
Preliminary
- 03
Opening of Business Diplomat's Global Platform
Institutional presentation of Business Diplomat, founder and convening institution of the Summit, and of its global mission.
Preliminary
- 04
The Corridor Doctrine
Official International Launch
Presentation of The Corridor Doctrine and its central ideas on human connectivity, trust and the infrastructure behind international economic corridors.
Preliminary
- 05
High-Level Panel
Business Diplomacy in a Fragmented World
A high-level conversation on the role of business leaders, diplomats and institutions in maintaining trusted international relationships in an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment.
Preliminary
- 06
Founding Signature Ceremony
A symbolic institutional component marking the inaugural edition and the founding of the World Business Diplomacy Summit.
Preliminary
Preliminary — subject to confirmation.
Full ProgrammeEvery business eventually collideswith a government. What decides thecollision is not capital.
08Under the Patronage of
Cristina Reyes
The inaugural edition is held under the patronage of Cristina Reyes, who lends international stature and institutional guidance to a Summit founded and convened by Business Diplomat.
The Patron
Global Voices
Diplomacy. Business. Government. Ideas.
Participants of the inaugural edition are confirmed on a rolling basis. Profiles are published only once participation has been formally confirmed for publication.
Speakers to be announced
The first confirmed participants of the inaugural edition will be published here. Announcements are made only after formal confirmation.
Speakers & Delegates- Heads of State & Government
- Ambassadors & Diplomats
- Global Business Leaders
- Policymakers
- Investors & Entrepreneurs
- International Institutions
10Official International Launch
The Corridor Doctrine
Washington, D.C. · 21 October 2026
The inaugural Summit hosts the official international launch of The Corridor Doctrine — a study of how business diplomacy determines outcomes along the corridors now reopening between Asia, Europe and the wider world.
The book forms part of the intellectual foundation surrounding the Business Diplomat initiative: an argument about human connectivity, trust, and the infrastructure of relationships that sits beneath every economic corridor.
Discover the Book“Every business eventually collides with a government. What decides the collision is not capital. It is a skill — and the skill has five levels.”
The Institution Behind the Summit
Business Diplomat
The World's First Think-Do Tank on the Modern Silk Road
Think
Research, ideas, frameworks and thought leadership.
Do
International engagement, economic diplomacy, market connectivity and practical initiatives.
Convene
Summits, forums, exchanges, delegations, dialogues and executive roundtables.
The World Business Diplomacy Summit is the flagship global convening platform of Business Diplomat.
Business Diplomat
12International Delegations
Delegations from around the world
The World Business Diplomacy Summit welcomes selected institutional, governmental and business delegations from around the world — countries, chambers of commerce, investment organisations, business councils, industry associations, universities, international organisations and private-sector leadership groups.
Delegation Enquiries
13Partnerships
Partner with the Summit
Partnerships are curated according to institutional relevance and alignment with the mission of the Summit. Strategic, institutional, knowledge, global, media and supporting partners each hold a defined role in the inaugural edition.
Discuss a Partnership
14Attendance
Join the inaugural Summit
Attendance at the World Business Diplomacy Summit is by invitation and application. Requests are reviewed by the Summit Secretariat.
Submitting a request does not constitute confirmation of attendance.
Newsroom
News & updates
Official announcements from the Summit Secretariat.
Announcements to follow
Official announcements regarding the inaugural edition will be published here.