Dubai is global pivot to strengthen North-South trade and enhancing regional prosperity

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Dubai - MENA Herald: Dubai has emerged as a global pivot in redefining the contours of global trade with a focus on North-South transport, and in enhancing the prosperity of the entire Middle East region, said HE Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Vice Chairman of DP World, addressing a keynote discussion at the first Commonwealth of Independent States Global Business Forum (CIS GBF 2016), being held on February 17 and 18 at the Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai.
Underlining the role that Dubai’s ports play in the fast-changing global trade dynamics, HE Bin Thaniah said that the city’s ports serve over 2 billion people in the wider region, with DP World achieving a throughput of 15.2 million TEU in 2014.
“A strong economic platform has been created in Dubai, and this will be central in driving the North-South trade connecting the emerging markets in the southern hemisphere with Russia and CIS,” he said.
HE Bin Thaniah said Dubai is filling the vacuum that exists between East-West trade and vice versa through its strategic geographic location, while also playing a key role in the North-South trade. “We are the modern platform that links the world – east to west, north to south.”
Discussing the new opportunities in developing the North-South Transport Corridor, HE Bin Thaniah said three factors have changed the global dynamics of trade: The trade barriers, transportation costs and the tariff regimes. “The global dynamics of trade has changed dramatically in the past 15 years with more private sector participation, and the government stepping back to assume the role of facilitator. We have witnessed trade flow shifting from a West-to-East direction to East-to-West. This has been driven by the emergence of China as a hub for low-cost manufacturing.”
He said that the North-South Transport will emerge as a key force in the future complementing the Trans-Pacific and East-West trade corridors, because “the emerging markets, especially in Africa, are the future. Connecting all these vital trade routes is Dubai and the UAE.”
HE Bin Thaniah said Dubai has the knowhow, the knowledge, the products and the will to serve the CIS region. “We are already playing a key advisory and logistic partner role in the CIS. This is part of a bigger vision to connect West China with the region.”
Commenting on the oil price volatility, he observed that low prices are not sustainable for the long-term. “No one could foresee the impact or reality of the oil price volatility. Experts had said prices would stabilize at about US$86 per barrel in 2015. Low prices are good for consumer and industrial nations but this is not sustainable, and must be restored for the global economy to grow again.”

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