Sajjad Ahmad, Staff Reporter

Under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, the UAE Maritime Week 2019, the pioneering regional maritime event, kicked off on Sunday to provide a unified platform for all stakeholders to discuss how to build an innovative and knowledge- and technology-driven maritime industry in the 21st century.

High-profile international maritime leaders and pioneers attended the first day to explore the rising opportunities in maritime trade, which will be tackled during a series of high-level events.

The opening ceremony was attended by VIPs, dignitaries, and top maritime leaders led by Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development, Chairman of the Federal Authority- Land & Maritime Transport; Noriel Araúz, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP).

Significant international attention was given the local maritime sector during the opening of the UAE Maritime Week 2019.  Dubai has been ranked first in the Middle East and fifth globally in the list of the best maritime centers in the world for 2019. The emirate was also included in the top five global centers in the International Shipping Center Development Index. The string of achievements is mainly attributed to the support of the country’s wise leaders and concerned authorities’ commitment to deliver advanced maritime services and build a modern legislative and legal infrastructure in line with the international maritime protocols and conventions. Thanks to its continuing accomplishments in the field, the UAE has been granted the Category B membership of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the first Arab country to do so.

Bin Sulayem said that the UAE Maritime Week is aligned with the international efforts to promote the maritime industry amid rapid changes brought about by growing technological revolutions with disruptive features that continue to impact major economic sectors, including the maritime community.

 Bin Sulayem added: “The event comes at a time when Dubai and the UAE are leading the way in the global maritime world after the emirate’s inclusion on the list of ‘Best Global Maritime Capitals of 2019.’ Through the UAE Maritime Week 2019, we are reaffirming once again our commitment to highlight Dubai’s unique maritime model, a solid foundation for its advanced maritime clusters driven by technological innovations. Our efforts are also in keeping with the emirate’s path to harness the power of next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. Today, we are going to proudly highlight our experiences in enhancing the competitiveness and attractiveness of the maritime sector, in line with international laws, agreements, and protocols, as we seek to be a pivotal player in shaping the future of trade, transport, and shipping worldwide. We look forward to our interaction with the participants over the next few days. The discussions will undoubtedly yield positive outcomes, promising opportunities, and long-lasting solutions to emerging obstacles in support of our shared goal of establishing a safe, innovative, and sustainable global marine clusters.”

The UAE Maritime Week 2019 began with the Dubai Maritime Agenda 2019. Maritime leaders, decision makers, regional and international experts, government officials, policy makers, and representatives of major international companies working in the maritime sector were some of the gathering’s top attendees. The Agenda raised a number of issues affecting the future of the global maritime industry through its four main sessions. The first session titled ‘Commercial uncertainty: China, Brexit, and maritime market fundamentals’ outlined the importance of China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative in shaping the future of the global maritime industry.

The second session, ‘Artificial Intelligence/Blockchain Technologies and Maritime Trade,’ shed light on the current and emerging challenges as well as opportunities concerning new technological innovations, cybersecurity, AI, automation, and other digital systems.

Amer Ali, Executive Director of DMCA, said that the UAE Maritime Week 2019 is an opportunity to highlight Dubai’s advanced position as an influential force on the global maritime stage. Ali also underlined the event’s role in strengthening international cooperation to develop a clear roadmap for attracting substantial investments in research and development, innovation, and technology. This is in recognition of their part in advancing the global maritime industry according to future requirements.

Dr Nawfal Al Jourani, Director at Dubai Maritime Cluster Office said, “ the Dubai maritime sector witnessed 25 per cent growth last year and it is currently Dhs29 billion worth industry with over 74300 companies and providing over 76000 jobs.”

DMCA and Expo 2020 Dubai have revealed that next year’s edition of UAE Maritime Week will be held at Dubai Exhibition Centre, co-located with Expo 2020 Dubai, from December 6 to 10, 2020. Both parties have affirmed their commitment to utilize the potential available to advance the march of building a safe, renewable and sustainable maritime sector in line with the economic diversification plans of Dubai and the rest of the UAE.

This came during the speech of Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, Executive Director of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, which took place on the sidelines of the Dubai Maritime Agenda 2019, he announced the hosting of UAE Maritime Week will be at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, co-located with Expo 2020 Dubai.