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The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) concluded its participation in the 27th edition of the Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology expo (SMM 2016) held in the German city of Hamburg from September 6 to 9.
Promoting the emirate’s leadership in maritime industry with a pavilion at the strategic maritime exhibition, the trade mission which consisted of 15 officials of Dubai-based shipping and maritime companies, was led by H.E. Hisham Al Shirawi, 2nd Vice Chairman, Dubai Chamber, and Amer Ali, Executive Director, DMCA.
The maritime exhibition attracted more than 2,000 exhibitors and over 50,000 visitors looking to stay ahead of new innovations and trends in the sector.
On the opening day of the exhibition, the Dubai Stand was visited by over 200 visitors who were attracted by a Virtual Reality Video of Dubai and its Logistics sectors while the Dubai delegates attended 75 one-to-one business meetings with visiting delegates from the maritime industry.
Besides attending the five-day exhibition, the delegates participated in six events including a visit to the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and a dinner hosted by H.E. Ali Abdullah Al-Ahmad, UAE Ambassador to Germany in honour of the participating UAE delegates.
In his welcome address during the Dubai Networking Reception at the UAE Pavilion, H.E. Al Shirawi, stated that SMM 2016 is a leading global forum for the maritime industry that enables Dubai-based companies increase their exposure, adding that it also helps promote the emirate’s maritime industry and its strategic location to a global audience.
H.E. Al Shirawi highlighted the importance of the maritime sector in Dubai’s world trade, revealing that shipping accounted for 39% of Dubai’s total foreign trade in 2015 with ocean freight trade value amounting to AED 501 billion.
Lauding the partnership with DMCA and the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in organising the trade mission, H.E. Al Shirawi stated that the biennial event in Hamburg is always an incredible learning experience in which it has participated in since 2012.
He also lauded DP World in strengthening the global role of the UAE and Dubai in particular as a world-class leader in the operation of large and medium ports through the organisation, which today has a portfolio of more than 65 marine terminals across six continents.
Sharing his experience with the trade mission, Rashid Isa Rishi Al Heddi, Group Managing Director of Dubai-based Seamaster Maritime said: “This finely tuned and organised event was very well received by the Hamburg Chamber and also our various German clients who were very pleased to see the impressive participation from Dubai.
“This certainly has helped raise Dubai’s profile. Also, there were great networking opportunities provided by Dubai Chamber and DMCA authorities, with several business contacts from the industry as we got to discuss future joint ventures with global maritime businesses,” Al Heddi added.
Echoing his view, Gamal Fekry, CEO of Dubai-based Red Sea Marine Management, described the SMM 2016 trade mission as “an excellent opportunity to network and exchange market review and status with significant number of stakeholders in the marine and shipping industry.”
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