Two-day event convenes under patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai
Dubai-UAE: May 17, 2016 – His Excellency Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, today inaugurated the eighth Offshore Arabia Conference and Exhibition at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event has convened under the theme “Innovate – Adapt & Evolve An Eye on the Current Situation & the Other on the Future”.
His Excellency Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi was accompanied by a number of officials, specialists, and keynote speakers from the region and the world.
Following the opening ceremony, His Excellency Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi toured the exhibition area and met representatives from various participating companies specialized in the marine and maritime industry.
In his opening remarks, he said: “Reducing the risks of climate change and enabling sustainable development both require us to tackle various issues such as oil and ship pollution and other maritime challenges. This will be our primary areas of focus during the Offshore Arabia Conference and Exhibition this year. We look forward to reading the recommendations of the brilliant minds convening in the conference. We plan to study and employ those recommendations to help us achieve our goals for sustainable development and to curb the risks of climate change.”
He added: “This year, Offshore Arabia 2016 has chosen “Innovate, Adapt & Evolve, an Eye on the Current Situation & Other on the Future” as its theme. That same theme symbolizes the essence of all the strategic initiatives undertaken by the UAE to diversify its economy and make the shift to a green, sustainable economy based on knowledge and innovation, in line with the UAE Vision 2021 – all while preserving our natural resources for future generations.”
For his part, His Excellency Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of Dubai Council for Marine and Maritime Industries, said: “All conference topics are of great importance this year and they have great relevance due to the global transformation and on-going global slow down versus moderate growth potential. Can you imagine what it would mean if the container lines would lose as much as US$10bn this year as projected? Could you imagine the incredible slow down and low pricing structure of all commodities?”
“Other areas of interest and important topics would be the media’s role in shipping, public relations and crisis management, financial crises and new trends in banking, security of critical infrastructure, airborne advanced surveillance, the newly updated state of the art metocean dataset for the Arabian Gulf and oil spill and crude oil tanker route monitoring systems,” he added.
Commenting on the offshore industry in the UAE, His Excellency Khamis Juma Buamim said: “The UAE offshore and marine market without a doubt is the biggest in the region, and it can grow further despite the global downwards trends. The data shows that the UAE’s contribution reaches US$61 billion, noting our proximity to growth area such as India we are looking at good potential. India is looking for increased vessels for LPG and the chemical market continue to be in a growth cycle. The GCC alone has over 150 million tons of chemical production.”
“Yes, times are challenging but businesses do innovate and regenerate themselves if they have the right environment. The real Big Bang is the planned Saudi Aramco IPO which is looking into a 3-way listing in New York, London, and Hong Kong. The listing of only 5% of the company, which could raise US$100 to US$150 billion, could have a tremendous positive change to the GCC region economy and future investments in all sectors of economy,” he concluded.
Eng. Anas Al Madani, Vice-Chairman and Group CEO of INDEX Holding, said: “The offshore sector has always been a vital one that contributes to our national economy. Through Offshore Arabia Conference and Exhibition, we strive to support this sector and also highlight the marine and maritime sectors while coming up with sustainable and environment-friendly solutions.”
“Offshore Arabia Conference & Exhibition has become the ideal platform for innovation and networking amongst various specialized companies and organizations working in the field of marine and maritime. This year, the event witnesses the participation of 100 companies from over 23 countries displaying their latest technologies and solutions,” he said.
On the sidelines of the opening ceremony, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Dubai Council for Marine and Maritime Industries (DCMMIemirates) and the World Ocean Council (WOC). The MoU was signed by Paul Holthus, President and CEO of World Ocean Council (WOC), and His Excellency Mr. Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of Dubai Council for Marine and Maritime Industries. The agreement aims to promote corporate ocean responsibility, ocean sustainable economic development, and responsible ocean economic activity.
Offshore Arabia Conference and Exhibition is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The two-day event is organised annually by INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions Organisation Est. – member of INDEX Holding at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
