Mwani Qatar officials being honoured by Eizeldin Abdelrahman, Executive Director of Al Sharq Media Management and Executive Director of the Silk Road Exhibition.
The Silk Road Exhibition & One Belt, One Road Conference concluded yesterday after witnessing huge turnout of investors, decision makers and officials from various industries who gathered to network, share expertise and identify potential opportunities. The three-day event provided a perfect platform for businessmen, companies and other stakeholders to meet and network.
The high-profile event was organised by Dar Al Sharq Group.
Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, and Minister of Public Works of Kuwait, H E Dr. Jenan Bushehri inaugurated the Silk Road Exhibition & One Belt, One Road Conference.
Several industry leaders including Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, QIIB Chairman and Managing Director; Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways; senior officials and businessmen attended the opening ceremony.
Alongwith participation of local companies, several global firms from different countries such as Italy, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Poland participated in the event.
The event attracted investments and specialised modern technology to Qatar, and provided opportunities for building agreements and mutual cooperation between Qatar and the Silk Road States in various fields.
On the last day of the exhibition, the organisers honoured exhibitors for their active participation.
The first day of the event saw speeches from industry leaders. Delivering the opening address, Lim Meng Hui, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA), gave an overview of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and provided insight on the economic and trade potential of Qatar, with special focus on the role of Qatar Free Zones in the development of Qatar’s economy.
Addressing the conference, Assistant to the CEO of Dar Al Sharq, Jassim Fakhro, said Qatar is playing a key role in several sectors including politics, economic, sports, culture and tourism.
He said that Qatar today is one of the most important catalysts for investment in the region, thanks to its excellent management and strategic location which make it as a commercial platform and a meeting point for the countries of the world, which in turn provides an opportunity for foreign companies looking to expand their business in Qatar and regional countries.
Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, and Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, QIIB Chairman and Managing Director, honoured many companies including Mwani Qatar, Qatar Airways, Milaha, Qterminals, Qatar Rail, Qatar Free Zones Authority.
The Silk Road Exhibition & One Belt, One Road Conference, in its second day, shed light on a number of issues such as maritime logistics, and security and safety in supply chain and logistics.
The first session, titled Maritime Logistics’ was headed by Dr. Sheikh Thani bin Ali bin Saoud Al Thani member of the Board of International Relations, Qatar International Center for Documentation and Arbitration.
Speaking at the session, Captain Dr. Abdul Amir Al Faraj - who is Arbitrator at Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry - said that there is a big difference between the services and facilities provided by the sea ports.
The difference is that when we say services, it means the necessary services that must be provided by the sea ports such as navigation service, container discharge and other services while the non-mandatory facilities means the complementary things which are not obligatory.
Al Faraj in his presentation titled “Logistics Practices in Sea Ports” added that the goods in the ports are going through 14 stages and many things must be taken into account like the type of ships entering the port in terms of volume as well as containers.
Dr. Mona Hussein Al Marzouqi, Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at Faculty of Law of Qatar University said in her presentation about the responsibility of the transport station operator that there are no special legislative provisions in the Qatari Maritime Law No. 15 of 1980. The responsibility is subject to the general rules in the Civil Code.
Dr. Nader Mohamed Ibrahim, PhD in International Commercial Arbitration, said that many issues should be discussed. Business competition, cost pressure, time and customer satisfaction, principle of specialization are some of the issues which need more clarity.
During the second session, the experts highlighted the issue of security and safety of ports, shipping and maritime.
The panelists asked the management of ports and other stakeholders to take extra precautions by training their employees to ensure safety and security of ports and maritime operation because it is a global matter.
Second session of the event was on Security and Safety in Supply and Logistics which was moderated by Minas Khatchadorian, Consultant at the Qatar International Centre for conciliation and Arbitration.
Captain Abdulaziz Nasser Al Yafei said that Mwani Qatar organises trainig programs on a regular basis, where employees are trained to ensure the readiness of the port for any type of accidents.
“Our ports have proven their capabilities in terms of infrastructure, and human resource, and today we are talking about unprecedented handling rates.
This confirms the capabilities of ports of Qatar,” said Al Yafei He said the State has invested about $8bn to develop the main ports the country, whether Hamad Port, Ruwais Port, and Doha Port which is currently being developed, in addition to developing legislation and redrafting laws, in accordance with the agreements and laws signed by the State with the maritime organisation.
Pino Musolino, President of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority (AdSP) said that safety is very important to attract the investments in maritime and other sectors.
“If the supply chain is not safe and secure, the whole international trade will not flourish,” said Musolino.
He said that huge money are being invested in maritime transportation. Safety is very important for all means of transportation.
“International regulations are in place to ensure the safety and security of ports and shipping lines,” he added.
