The Abu Dhabi Summit of Global Marine and Maritime Leaders has positioned the UAE as a centre for the international maritime economy, with its conclusion today (January 20).

 

It was organised by Emirates Classification Society 'Tasneef,' in partnership with the Mare Forum International Committee.

 

The summit was held with great interest and involvement from the international and regional maritime shipping sectors, during which speakers provided valuable information on the various factors affecting the clusters, the conclusions of intellectual ideas and will explore the prospects of future developments, said a statement.

 

Maritime Leaders discussed the major challenges faced by shipping, oil and gas sectors. They evaluated several ideas on the new options available to both governments and companies working in this field, in order to improve the business environment in both sectors and how to promote and enhance investment and profitability chances.

 

Dr Abdullah bin Mohammad Belhaif Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Public Works and the chairman of the Federal Authority for Land and Maritime Transport, said: "We are proud of the success of this summit held for the first time in Abu Dhabi, and which comes with long preparations for the UAE to be an international leader in the maritime field. 

 

"The success of this summit coincides with our efforts in the government to build a sustainable economy that is not dependent on the oil and gas and their price fluctuations for the development and prosperity of the country.”

 

"We have heard during the summit for the world of maritime, and spotted the aspirations and needs in order to overcome the great challenges facing companies and businessmen," he said.

 

Rashed AlHebsi, chief executive officer of Tasneef, said: "We are delighted to host this summit for the first time in Abu Dhabi in partnership with the Mare Forum International Committee. We now believe that we have dedicated the position of the UAE and its capabilities as a key player in the international maritime scene. 

 

"We have also given the opportunity to the national maritime leaders to engage in a dialogue with their counterparts of maritime international leaders, and this opportunity itself represents a starting point for a long-term partnership, where we enjoy the unlimited support by the UAE decision-maker to make the investment climate in the maritime sector the best in the region and in the world.”

 

"The amount of enthusiasm that we witnessed from both the national and international companies to sponsor this summit as well as the quality of the attendance of the national and international maritime leaders surprised us, and we consider that the conclusions and the ideas that resulted from the summit were exceptional and really new and they will have a significant impact on the development of the national maritime strategy as well as the influence on the international trends in the maritime industry,” he said.

 

Jannis Kostoulas, president of Mare Forum explained "We hold these summits for years in many countries, but I can say with confidence that this summit was exceptional in every sense of the word, the level of support and the attention that we felt from the emirate of Abu Dhabi maritime leaders and companies was great, and we consider that the UAE represents for us a permanent station that will continue to add a significant value to the discussions and ideas that are exchanged between the participants, for the future of the maritime industry and marine services industry, which is considered the backbone of international trade." - TradeArabia News Service