Under the patronage H.E Dr.Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, the UAE Minister of Infrastructure Development and the Chairman of Federal Transport Authority for Land and Maritime, preparations are underway for the fourth Breakbulk Middle East 2019. The event gathers world’s top industry experts whom favored Dubai to host the fourth edition of the event. Furthermore, the event will definitely have a positive impact as it is primarily dedicated to highlighting the major issues and key players in vital sectors such as breakbulk and project cargo. The fourth edition is scheduled to be held for the first time in Dubai in 11th and 12th February 2019 at the Dubai World Trade Centre aspiring to unite key logistics players, carriers and cargo owners.  

H.E Dr.Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, the UAE Minister of Infrastructure Development and the Chairman of Federal Transport Authority for Land and Maritime stated, “We are proud to say that the UAE today is the Maritime flagship for the Middle East. That’s why, many international leading maritime conferences choose the UAE as their prime venue for both expos and conferences. Accordingly, we aim to collaborate together with the Breakbulk team aspiring to solidify the UAE position as breakbulk and logistics hub. The UAE is already leading the maritime industry in the Middle East, and huge efforts are in progress to enhance it. We will continue to address the issues that may arise in the industry, and we will unify efforts with government entities and the private sector to face the challenges and to further grow with the industry that will in turn solidify the UAE’s position amongst the world’s best maritime hubs.” 

H.E Al Nuaimi clarified, “We are constantly following the instructions of our wise leadership who believe in the importance of the maritime sector as an efficient way of delivering goods. Countries worldwide are heavily counting on shipping to facilitate trade and enhance business opportunities. The UAE is steadily climbing the ranks of the leading nations in the global maritime industry, and this requires a process of constant development and reform.” 

According to H.R.H Princess Sarah AlSaud, Director of Maritime Business Development at the International Forum for Maritime Transport, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Alexandria, who attended the 3rd edition of Breakbulk ME and delivered the keynote speech, “The establishment of such exhibitions and conferences in the shipping and maritime trade sectors is very significant for our region. Breakbulk Middle East is a platform for generating and sharing innovative ideas in the industry. I was delighted to see the region’s foremost experts in the sector come together such as leading shippers, port authorities, carriers, freight forwarders and transport specialists. I look forward for another successful event in 2019.” 

Princess Al Saud emphasized, “The 4th edition of Breakbulk Middle East witnesses strategic era whereas China’s Belt and Road Initiative will become a major player in the international economy. Accordingly, The UAE and Saudi Arabia will play a very important role in contributing to that plan’s success. The development of commercial ports and the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) can be the driver of economic industrialization and growth. Therefore, I want to hear from the major industry key players who will attend the fourth edition of Breakbulk ME and discuss the GCC’s new maritime strategy and its major projects.”  

Mohammed Al Muallem, DP World’s Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, UAE Region,  said “There is no doubt that the global economy is improving and the outlook for the upcoming years in terms of growth and development is optimistic. We can see the significant value of the breakbulk industry as global exports and imports are considerably growing. The global market is currently not only benefiting from the recovery but witnesses an increase in trade volume.” 

Al Muallem added, “Breakbulk industry has remained a source of opportunities in our region. We, at DP World, believe in the importance of generating better business opportunities to maintain our global leadership. Jebel Ali Port’s General Cargo Facility spreads over 1.4 million sq metres with 27 berths, including a covered area of 70,000 sqm. We will continue to invest in breakbulk and cargo projects to meet our customers’ need and we aim to sustain our effective collaboration with Breakbulk Middle East which will definitely solidify the UAE global maritime competitiveness.”  

Facing the challenges of the breakbulk industry 

The breakbulk industry plays a vital role in accomplishing major developments for the maritime sector. Ben Blamire, the event’s Commercial Director commented, “Through the experience that we have gained over the past years by organizing this event in many different countries, we have recognized the essential role that this event plays. Breakbulk Middle East gathers key industry leaders from all over the world under one umbrella, where they are given the opportunity to share expertise, knowledge, the challenges that they are facing, their future goals and definitely development opportunities and solutions.”  

Blamire added, “We all agree that the industry has been facing major challenges due to the fluctuation in oil prices that basically has affected the global market. Therefore, we work hard year after a year to guarantee that our event is an objective platform for generating and sharing innovative ideas to face major industry challenges and come up with effective solutions. Breakbulk Middle East also aims to showcase the industry’s international best practices which will further enhance the UAE’s global ranking.”  

On another note, Leslie Meredith, Marketing Director, Breabulk Events& Media stated, “There is no doubt that the UAE is one of the most developed countries in the maritime sector both economically and commercially. The country provides competitive environment that has gained investor confidence and is capable of hosting and supporting diverse range of major business activities across the maritime sectors, which will in turn contribute to enhancing the UAE’s leadership in facing the challenges and solving business related issues.”  

Meredith concluded, “Both event’s conference and expo attract participants from more than 52 countries from all sectors of the project cargo and breakbulk industry, which reflects the high international interest in project development within the GCC. We have recently opened the registration for our fourth edition and we highly welcome all the industry experts and key players to join and register through the official website (www.breakbulk.com/bbme2019).”