A group of maritime companies from Monaco recently visited Dubai, UAE, to learn about its pioneering maritime experience, innovative, technology-driven, comprehensive offerings in the maritime sector.

The delegation included leaders of the yacht and ship industry in Monaco such as Espen Oeino, chief executive officer of Espen Oeino International for Yacht and Ship Manufacturing; Sabrina Monteleone, chief executive officer of Sabrina Monte Carlo; and Rainer Behne, chief executive officer of Behnemar, said a statement.

The delegation praised the emirate for its strong international presence driven by its competitive and world-class advantages, it said.

Representatives from the visiting maritime companies met with the officials of the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) to know more about its pioneering initiatives to make the local sector an influential force particularly on the maritime leisure tourism map, it added.

The initiatives were launched to attract international investors, create a business-friendly environment, and build advanced maritime infrastructure and logistics according to the needs of the 21st century.

Senior DMCA officials headed by Ali Al Daboos, executive director for operations, and Nawfal Al Jourani, director of Dubai Maritime Cluster Office, said the visit reflected the confidence of the international community in Dubai, which was recently named one of the top five cities in the International Shipping Centre Development Index (ISCD).

Dubai is also one of world’s most competitive, integrated, and attractive maritime clusters with the most attractive business environment for maritime activities.
 
During the meeting, the DMCA officials also shed light on the emirate’s policies on maritime safety, operational efficiency, and safe navigation as part of its efforts to meet the evolving current and future needs of the global maritime industry.

Further, the visiting delegates took note of Dubai’s valuable contributions to the global yacht industry, which is poised to grow to $74.7 billion by 2022.

They underscored the need to strengthen further the relations between Dubai and Monaco to reach their common vision of becoming a leader in the world of luxury yachts and other maritime segments.

A robust cooperation between them will open up new investment opportunities, particularly in leisure maritime tourism, which is considered vital to their economic growth.

Amer Ali, executive director of DMCA, said: “The future holds promising prospects for building strong strategic partnerships between maritime pioneers in the UAE and Monaco as both take on the path towards growth and sustainability.”

“As for maritime leisure, Dubai and the UAE have been taking key steps to accelerate its bid to become a hub for luxury yachts. Under the guidance of the wise leadership, investments in projects related to leisure industry has already reached $1.5 billion, placing the UAE in the ninth slot in terms of the number of luxury yachts manufactured so far this year,” he said.

Ali continued: “We thanked the delegation from Monaco for visiting Dubai and exploring the many opportunities here. During the visit, the delegates learned about Dubai’s leading experience and efforts to consistently enhance its maritime infrastructure, update its policies and regulatory frameworks, and improve its licensing procedures to meet the needs of owners and operators of yachts and luxury boats according to the highest standards of efficiency and reliability.”

“We are honoured to explore ways to build constructive relationships with Monaco, which is a key destination for luxury yachts lovers. We aim to consolidate all communication channels to promote the luxury yacht and leisure maritime tourism industries based on our growth targets and sustainability goals,” he added.

Ali further stated: “The international community’s growing confidence in Dubai is driving us to further launch qualitative initiatives to attract more investors and increase the local sector’s global competitiveness, particularly in the maritime licensing procedures and other services related to the operations and maintenance of vessels and ships in line with the goal of Dubai Plan 2021 Plan to make the city a global leader in tourism, trade, transport, and finance.”

The visit was an opportunity to showcase DMCA’s major endeavours. The Dubai Maritime Virtual Cluster (DMVC) is one of DMCA’s initiatives designed to bridge gaps and encourage positive participation of maritime leaders through the use of a virtual platform.

The DMVC, a comprehensive information and knowledge portal and a virtual centre for innovation, research and development, and training, is equipped with interactive features.

Another is the Innovation Quay, which provides integrated services and exceptional opportunities to enable developers, innovators, and researchers to transform their proposals on strengthening Dubai’s global status into actual projects.

The visitors commended DMCA for its policies and efforts to forge global cooperation with entities associated with maritime affairs such as free zones ports. Dubai is home to more than 7,400 companies operating 13,000 maritime and investment activities. The maritime industry has generated over 76,000 jobs. – TradeArabia News Service