The Dubai Maritime Cluster Office (DMCO) of the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) has signed MoUs with Germany’s Maritimes Cluster Norddeutschland and Canada’s Vancouver International Maritime Cluster as part of its efforts to develop more strategic partnerships with the world's leading maritime clusters. 

 

These alliances support efforts of Dubai and the entire UAE to position itself as attractive destinations for regional and global shipowners, port operators and maritime investors, remarked Amer Ali, the executive director of DMCA after signing the deal with Stefan Beueros, the general manager of Maritimes Cluster Norddeutschland; and Keith Stein, Director General of Vancouver International Maritime Cluster on the sidelines of the Dubai Maritime Agenda 2017 event.

 

The trio affirmed the importance of strengthening cooperation in areas advancing their common aspiration of driving the growth of the global maritime sector, stated Ali. 

 

"We also agreed to mutually enrich knowledge and share our successful international experiences and best practices in maritime training, technological innovation and other important areas related to the components of the maritime cluster," he added. 

 

The signing ceremony was attended by Hamad Buamim, the director general of Dubai Chamber, which played an active role in the communication between the Hamburg office and the DMCO, and other officials.

 

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the chairman of the Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation in Dubai and DMCA said: "We confidently look forward to the influence of these new partnerships on the development of an integrated framework and a clear roadmap for promoting investment opportunities available in the maritime clusters of Dubai, Hamburg and Vancouver."

 

"It will also enable maritime industry leaders to contribute more to exploring the future of a global maritime sector empowered by innovation and technology as key pillars for developing marine clusters in line with accelerating changes in the global maritime sector," he noted.

 

Ali pointed out that the international co-operation represents an advanced step towards attracting new investments with the potential to further increase the contributions of the maritime sector to the GDP of Dubai which currently stands at 7 per cent, equivalent to Dh26.9 billion ($7.32 billion).  

 

"It will help create more jobs and drive the economic diversification of Dubai and the UAE on the path to achieving comprehensive and sustainable development," he added.

 

According to Ali, these new partnerships are very important as they come at a time when Dubai is taking proactive steps to become one of the world’s leading maritime capitals by 2020. 

 

"The agreements will advance the DMCA’s promotion of the strengths and competitiveness of the local maritime cluster, which is currently one of the most attractive and comprehensive in the world," he added.-TradeArabia News Service