June 30, 2018. Dubai, UAE: The Maritime Advisory Council, an initiative of the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), has emphasized the need to unify joint efforts of maritime and private sector leaders to develop forward-looking solutions designed to shape the future of the local maritime community. Highlighting the solid pillars of innovation, sustainability and smart transformation, the Council said during the meeting held at the DMCA headquarters that developing effective strategies and capitalizing on opportunities will help make Dubai the most comprehensive, competitive, and distinctive maritime community in the world.

Amer Ali, Executive Director of DMCA, said: “The Maritime Advisory Council continues to play a pivotal role in establishing a solid foundation for pioneering maritime expertise in support of the national efforts designed to enhance Dubai's global competitiveness.”

The Council’s regular meetings aim to activate public-private partnerships based on transparency, good governance, and constructive dialogue.

Ali also pointed out that the last meeting witnessed extensive discussions on the proposed mechanisms to meet emerging challenges, showcase the local industry’s attractiveness, and take advantage of available maritime sector opportunities. The attendees focused on developing clear frameworks to improve the quality and efficiency of the comprehensive maritime and logistics services. Doing so will help raise investors’ confidence in the competitive strengths of the local maritime sector.

Ali added: “Our discussions have resulted in important proposals that will pave the way for us at DMCA to achieve new key achievements to develop services, diversify investment opportunities, and raise the confidence of international investors in Dubai maritime sector. In collaboration with our government and private partners, we look forward to continuing our efforts to launch innovative initiatives and joint investment ventures that will serve the development of the maritime sector components in line with the requirements of the future.  We will keep in mind the need to harness the power of technological innovations to raise the contributions of the sector to the country’s sustainable economic growth driven by innovation and productivity.”

The meeting also focused on the recent key maritime initiatives and presented new proposals and ideas that would make Dubai the most comprehensive, distinctive, and competitive maritime capital in the world. The participants also tackled the best ways to sustain the gains of the DMCA and the Maritime Sector Strategy (MSS), which is a key pillar to enhance investors’ confidence in the domestic maritime sector. DMCA officials stressed the need to continue to work hard to ensure maritime safety, operational efficiency, and secure navigation in Dubai, while taking advantage of the latest technological innovations.

The Maritime Advisory Council is led by Mark Gistebrich, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Maersk in West and Central Asia, while its members consist of Mohammed Al Muallem, Saeed Al Malik, Christian Nyholm, and Anthony Weller. The Council is responsible for overseeing the sub-sectors of the high seas and maritime services, shipowners and shipping services, ports and infrastructure, and marine support services.

The Council acquires a big strategic importance being a link among local, regional, and international maritime stakeholders, with the mandate of raising the confidence of the international investment community in the competitiveness of the local maritime sector. This is aligned with the vision of providing a portfolio of advisory services and creative ideas in adherence to the objective of the MSS to make Dubai one of the world’s leading maritime clusters.