High-profile government officials and private entities involved in maritime activities today (November 24) discussed latest developments in the industry at the Dubai Maritime Innovation Workshop hosted by the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA).

DMCA is the government authority charged with regulating, coordinating and supervising all aspects of Dubai’s maritime sector.

The workshop was widely participated in by top maritime sector experts and leaders, decision and policy makers, government officials and representatives of leading international maritime companies as well as other entities involved in various maritime activities.

The event witnessed participants come up with new creative ideas for further enhancing the competitiveness and attractiveness of the local maritime cluster, in line with its tireless efforts to position Dubai among the world’s leading maritime capitals by 2020, said a statement from the authority.

The in-depth discussions were carried out through specialised group works and covered ports, docks, maritime tourism, and the maritime sector and governmental sector, among other key topics, it added.

The workshop was held as part of UAE Innovation Week 2016, an important event that creates a clear roadmap for fostering a culture of innovation that helps shape the future and fulfil the vision of the UAE’s wise leadership to transform the country into one of the world’s most creative nations.

The workshop kicked off with an interactive session entitled ‘Dubai Maritime Cluster Office: Organizational Culture and Innovation in Dubai’s Maritime Sector’ which highlighted the pivotal role of the Dubai Maritime Cluster Office in establishing innovation as an institutional approach, a standard governmental practice, and main pillar for meeting the Dubai Maritime Sector Strategy’s (MSS) key objective of making Dubai a highly prominent global maritime cluster, it said.

The agenda included extensive discussions conducted by specialised working groups and a series of interactive sessions touching on innovative ideas supportive of the DMCA’s efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the local maritime cluster and benefit from Dubai’s great potentials in areas such as the independent maritime arbitration, modern ports, advanced infrastructure, key policies and legislation, investment facilities, and integrated logistics services, among others.
 
Amer Ali, executive director of DMCA, said: “The workshop reflects our solid commitment to strengthen cooperation between the government and private sectors in driving innovation, creativity and excellence within the local maritime sector and putting Dubai and the UAE at the forefront of the most innovative maritime destinations in the world.”

“We are pleased to have organised a successful workshop on the sidelines of UAE Innovation Week which is a starting point for reaching higher levels of growth and progress based on innovation, which in turn has become one of the distinctive features of the ambitious development the UAE aspires as it transitions into a post-oil economy,” he added.

“The positive response and remarkable success of the second edition of the workshop motivated us to provide more tools for transforming the innovative ideas discussed during the interactive sessions into leading initiatives that support our ambitious objective to build a vibrant, diverse and safe maritime environment that contributes to Dubai Plan 2021’s goal of achieving sustainable economic growth based on innovation and productivity,” Ali concluded. – TradeArabia News Service