Baku, November 5, AZERTAC The international event titled “UN Governance Innovation Summit: Advancing Future-Ready Institutions,” co-organized by the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of Azerbaijan and the United Nations, featured a panel session titled “Rethinking the Role of the State: New Institutional Models for an Evolving Governance Landscape.”Building on the ministerial vision for 2040, the session shifted the focus from what governance should achieve to how institutions should be designed to deliver those objectives.It brought together ministers responsible for public administration, public sector reform, digital development, telecommunications, and technological innovation to explore how governments can rethink institutional structures, redefine public sector functions, and adapt governance models to changing societal, economic, and technological demands.Discussions focused on institutional adaptability, the evolving role of government, cross-sectoral approaches to reform, and the development of governance models capable of responding to emerging challenges and future public needs.Moderated by Dr. Sally Mabrouk, Director of the Director-General’s Cabinet and Head of the Strategy and Institutional Excellence Sector at the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the panel featured Ambassador Marie-Antoinette Rose Quatre, Chief Executive Officer of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Continental Secretariat at the African Union; Azar Bayramov, Director General of the Labour Centre of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); Geoffrey Kiringa Ruku, Cabinet Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programs; and Andrew Baasaron, Minister of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation of Suriname.