Yesterday, December 10, 2014, at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in the enchanting Dubai yacht charter location, was marked by the inaugural Maritime & Ports Middle East Conference under the patronage of Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA). Organized by Maritime & Ports Middle East magazine, the event offered a strategic platform to boost channels of effective communication amongst industry professionals as well as discuss the sector’s current status and prospects to develop effective maritime clusters in the region.
Khalid Meftah, DMCA’s Business Development Manager during the 1st Maritime & Ports Middle East Conference
The one-day conference featured a series of panel discussions, presentations and case studies. High-level experts, decision makers, and industry leaders as well as representatives from DMCA, DP World, and key companies in the Middle East’s maritime sector and support services were among the participants.
During the event, top emerging opportunities in the next two decades were presented along with the ongoing efforts to achieve the objectives of Dubai’s Maritime Sector Strategy and Maritime Vision 2030. The goals are aimed at establishing a safe and sustainable maritime sector to promote the emirate’s leading position as an international maritime hub. The discussions further focused on maritime arbitration as a key pillar to support international maritime clusters. The event saw positive response from the newly launched Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre, which offers an integrated framework to settle maritime disputes and create a maritime environment that is capable of addressing rapidly growing developments and emerging trends.
Khalid Meftah, DMCA’s Business Development Manager, gave a detailed presentation on the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre. He said that the Maritime & Ports Middle East Conference reflects Dubai’s status on the international maritime landscape. The local maritime industry has proven its strong presence globally thanks to its high-level competitive edge such as advanced infrastructure, strategic location, integrated legislative systems, and many more.
The conference’s agenda revolved around international maritime clusters and Dubai’s leading experience in transforming itself into a world-class integrated maritime cluster. The event served as an interactive platform for encouraging constructive communications towards establishing an effective mechanism aimed at contributing to the regional maritime sector’s growth. This is in line with the fast-emerging changes worldwide.
Meftah concluded: “We are also delighted to shed light on Dubai’s Maritime Sector Strategy and the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre. Both strive to regulate, develop and promote all components of the local maritime cluster, while boosting Dubai’s competitive edge as one of the leading maritime and logistics hubs in the world. We have received positive feedback on the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre, which is a key addition to our quest to promote Dubai’s capabilities to attract foreign investments and increase the industry’s contribution to the local gross domestic product (GDP). The Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre also aims to strengthen the maritime industry’s role as a leading value-added economic sector in line with the wise vision of our government.”
