Emirates will boost investor attraction in the maritime sector states a news article published in the Atalayar news source.
Emirates Maritime Network
The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure launched the “Emirates Maritime Network” to make the Gulf nation a global maritime hub and an ideal environment for maritime investment.
In order to advance the UAE’s marine sector globally and continue its leading role in developing alternative economic areas to the oil sector, Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazroui said this new launch is one of the most important initiatives, especially as the marine sector is currently estimated to be worth more than Dh90 billion annually.
Among the steps being taken by the ministry to implement the “Maritim Network Emirates” plan is the construction of a communication network between the various entities operating in the maritime sector, both public and private, available in the maritime industry and the UAE economy.
Bunker fuel supply and oil export
Mohamed al-Mansouri, undersecretary at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure for Infrastructure and Transport Affairs, added: “Our role in the UAE maritime sector is not limited to managing and operating one of the most important marine hubs in the world in terms of shipping, logistics, bunker fuel supply and oil export, but we are also considered a hub for building bridges of cooperation between clusters and world leading marine hubs,” further commenting that it is one of the sectors that can achieve significant leaps in contributing to the UAE’s Gross Domestic Product.
The Ministry stated that this project is a move to strengthen the role of the ports’ transport and logistics services in building alternative economic components to the hydrocarbon sector.
The announcement of the initiative coincided with World Shipping Day, this year under the theme of new technologies for environmentally friendly transport. The Emirates Maritime Network will include a unified portal including a central database for authorities operating in the sector, as well as a network of marine institutions and experts locally and internationally. To advance the maritime sector and assist in the formulation of the fifty annual maritime strategies. Accelerators will be formed to catalyse the success of innovative ideas and turn them into global marine projects, according to the company.
The maritime sector is an extremely important focus for a large number of states around the world and a sector that has never been immune to economic crises. Proof of this is that it was the sector most affected in the pandemic that later led to the container crisis. Currently, due to the war in Ukraine, which is causing fuel prices to rise, the sector is still in a very delicate moment. This is why governments are in a continuous search for solutions. Governments such as that of the United Kingdom consider maritime activity to be one of the sectors with the greatest potential for future growth.
Double maritime revenues
With this project, the UAE hopes to double maritime revenues in a few years. Minister of Transport Ahmed bin Hamdan al-Malik explained that the initiative was based on the strategy of innovation, research and scientific development of efficient systems. He further stressed that it would be desirable and very useful to create a platform at the local level in order to increase maritime capabilities in a strategic manner.
For the UAE, this sector is very important as it is competing with its Saudi neighbours for the diversification of the state’s sources of income, which, in the case of the Saudis, has many international maritime companies and institutions, with considerable weight and expansion in the maritime industry.
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Source: Atalayar
