Top maritime firms participate in MARACAD 2017

DUBAI / Emirates Business

Under the patronage of HE Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development and Chairman of the Federal Transport Authority – Land and Maritime, the third Maritime Academic Conference & Expo (MARACAD 2017) was held at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
MARACAD was held amid the UAE’s comprehensive international campaign to rally support for its bid to join the Executive Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The event organisers succeeded in mobilising much support to guarantee the UAE’s membership of the IMO Executive Council. Key officials attended MARACAD from IMO, headed by Dr Dorota Lost-Sieminska, Head of Legal Affairs Office.
The event attracted a large number of companies and specialists in the maritime sector. Over 400 maritime experts and experts attended the discussion sessions on the first day.
MARACAD 2017 is an exceptional national event and a comprehensive platform that motivated the UAE maritime sector. It was a networking event that brought together all stakeholders in the maritime economy to contribute to the UAE’s strategic vision to establish an international hub for marine economy.
HE Dr Al Nuaimi emphasized, “This event has emphasized the UAE’s unique infrastructure and marine investment environment, as well as its readiness to be a global hub for navigation and marine economy on a par with major maritime centres in Singapore, London, and other major hubs. What distinguished this year’s conference was the attendance of a high-level delegation from IMO, who reviewed the advancement of the UAE’s maritime system at the same time when we submitted our candidature for the IMO Executive Council under category B.”
Al Nuaimi added, “Such conferences and exhibitions are important networking platforms for business people, experts and decision-makers to meet and discuss developments in the maritime sector, and make business deals. Their success is an important competitive value for companies in the UAE because they have the opportunity to gain more market share and expand their business globally. For this reason, we provide our full support to MARACAD, and are very satisfied with its continuous development every session.”
Dr Abdullah Al Kathiri, Director General of Federal Transport Authority – Land and Marine, expressed full support to MARACAD’s initiative, UAE Award for Maritime Creativity and Innovation 2018.
He said, “While many talk about innovation and creativity in the marine industry, the move by MARACAD to launch this award has transformed ideas and intentions into an institutional project. That’s why, I’m confident that innovation and creativity will be part of a sustainable system. Today, we can confidently say that the maritime professionals and experts in the UAE will achieve global competitiveness with their innovation and creativity in the maritime industry. We hope the Award will develop in the future to become an incubator for creative maritime entrepreneurs and innovators.”
Mohammed Al Muallem, Senior Vice President & Managing Director of DP World for the UAE Region, said, “At DP World, we are keen to sponsor and participate in MARACAD because we give special priority to innovation and creativity in the maritime industry and services. Creativity depends mainly on the human element in terms of attention and care as well as education and development. These aspects were extensively covered at the event. We will continue to support and sponsor every national initiative that promotes creativity, innovation and caring for the human element in the UAE. That’s why, we announced at the conference that we are committed to adopting all innovative and creative ideas and initiatives presented by people working in the national maritime industry. We will adopt all feasible ideas that promote competitiveness.”
The conference was attended by many experts and specialists who reviewed the most important issues and latest developments in the maritime sector, in terms of digital transformation and new legislation. The IMO delegation participated in a session that discussed caring for the human element.