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Dubai launches World Logistics Passport at Davos to boost global Trade

January 26, 2020


 


Davos 2020: As head of the Dubai Silk Road steering committee, HH  Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum hosted an event in Davos to provide an update on his vision for the Silk Road Strategy. HH was accompanied by other members of the steering committee, H.E Sultan Al Mansoori, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, and Ms. Nadya A. Kamali. 

• HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum provided an update on his vision for the Dubai Silk Road in Davos one year after its enactment.
• The session focused on how Dubai is engaging with global leaders to create the Dubai Silk Road, a disruptive evolution in global trade.
• More than 60 global leaders from over 20 countries gathered to discuss challenges and opportunities under different growth scenarios for trade. 
• Dubai Logistics World plans to position the emirate of Dubai at the centre of new trade corridors running East and West.

The future of global trade is about to be disrupted by the emergence of new trading hubs that will leapfrog global stalwarts through technology adoption and optimisation of logistics’ processes. This is the vision that His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airlines and Group, shared with a group of global leaders at a private session in Davos. The emirate of Dubai is looking to expand its global footprint through partnerships and knowledge exchange with other global trade hubs. By unlocking efficiencies and value within the fastest growing economies, Dubai wants to re-draw global trade maps and change the economics of globalisation for the coming decade.


HH Sheikh Ahmed highlighted the role of Dubai in facilitating global trade, considering its position at the centre of new trade corridors running East and West: “The Dubai Silk Road strategy recognises the interdependent nature of trade and the need for continuous collaboration towards common goals. Our objective is to exchange knowledge and capabilities with existing and new partners that want to work with Dubai and be pioneers in trade innovation along the Dubai Silk Road”.

His Excellency Sultan Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy for the UAE, highlighted the importance of technology-enabled logistics processes: “Our objective of making the UAE a global leader in innovation aligns with Dubai’s strategy. Big data and disruptive technologies can optimise trade and logistics processes allowing the development of new trade routes. Dubai’s success story should be replicated in emerging economies which have the potential to become key trade partners for the UAE”.


The session gathered global leaders from the logistics industry. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World commented: “The world is fragmented and divided along economic barriers; Dubai’s initiative can change policymakers stance from competition to collaboration”. He also added: “Trade is the engine for global economic growth, DP World is eager to support the Dubai Silk Road to improve the performance of global logistics”. 

Dubai Logistics World (DLW), a company owned by the government of Dubai, organised the session to share Dubai’s success story in trade innovation and to identify the key challenges and inefficiencies in the current performance of global logistics. DLW is currently being directed and lead by Ms. Nadya A. Kamali, who commented, “The Silk Road focuses on the digital platform or soft tissue that capitalizes on infrastructure availability aimed to create a collaboration between the authority, operators, and trade community in order to facilitate and remove trade barriers, and, provides the ability to connect to a greater number of businesses and consumers globally.” In attendance were heads of state and global logistics companies that are looking for new trade opportunities at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.


Dubai Logistics World was created as part of the Silk Road Strategy to further enhance and develop the World Logistics Passport (WLP) initiative under the management of the parent company, Customs World. The World Logistics Passport aims to enhance trade operations by providing a range of cost reduction, efficiency improvement, and revenue generation opportunities. Ms. Kamali outlined the importance of disrupting the current approach to the global trade system and supporting it with astounding results achieved through the WLP program, that showed a trade value increment ten times over the projections done at it’s inception during a pilot phase between July to December 2019.

Participants concluded that Dubai could act as a focal point in enabling the transition to a technology-enabled global trade industry. Participants stressed the importance of governance and establishing suitable mechanisms for coordination to avoid disputes that may lead to loss of value and a slow down of progress. 

More than 60 global policymakers from countries including Ethiopia, India, South Africa, Brazil, Angola, Indonesia, Colombia and China contributed to the session.