Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed Al Sulaiti (third right), and Minister of Municipality and Environment, H E Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie (second right), and other dignitaries at the opening of the Qata
Under the patronage of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, the Qatar Maritime and Logistics Summit began at the Sheraton Hotel yesterday.
The high-profile summit began with the inaugural speech by the Minister of Transport and Communications, H E Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed Al Sulaiti.
Addressing the summit, Abdulrahman Essa Al Mannai, CEO of Milaha Group (Qatar Navigation) said that the company has always been focusing on sustainability, flexibility, strength and continuity in its field of business, in addition to the traditional areas.
He noted that almost 90 percent of global trade is maritime trade, stressing that it’s necessary to pay attention to this issue because of its great importance for economic performance.
Al Mannai stated that Qatar has witnessed very big changes in all stages of supply and supply chains, making it the only country in the Middle East with sufficient local capabilities in the import and export supply chain today, which is evidence of its great strength, especially in the past three years.
On infrastructure, Al Mannai noted that great effort has been made in this field, especially with regard to shipyards, ports, roads and large installations, and in the support system as well, including cooperation between the government and the private sector and investment in technology, expressing his belief that the current period is the best period to conduct commercial activities in Qatar.
The summit focuses on industry-wide, long-term challenges and opportunities as well as a number of important topics such as trade, global trends, port development, financing, technology, digital security, cybersecurity, safety, security and sustainability and many other topics related to shipping, port and logistics sectors.
Under the title of “Liquefied Gas Transport in Transition”, the second session discussed Global trade trends in 2020-30, Changing world trade patterns and their impact on maritime and logistics, Sustainability in LNG shipping, Safety in the LNG supply chain 2020-30, Sustainability and the supply chain in 2020-2030. The third session featured topics about Liner shipping between 2020 and 2030 and how port businesses are a critical node in the transport network and in the final session, experts have discussed supply chains and shipping in the age of change and safety 2020-2030.
The findings of summit will be drawn together to build an understanding of how global transport hubs will evolve throughout the 2020s. The summit will conclude today with a field tour in Hamad Port, were the participants will have the opportunity to explore port’s facilities, stages of development and the cutting-edge technology that port has features, and by setting the agenda for the next Qatar Maritime and Logistic Summit.
The two-day event is witnessing attendance of over 450 experts, decision makers and specialists in the fields of ports, maritime and logistics sectors as well as representatives and members of international organizations such as the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS).
