Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), the government authority responsible for regulating, coordinating and supervising all aspects of Dubai’s maritime sector, has recently hosted a Danish diplomatic delegation in its headquarters. The high-level delegation of the Royal Danish Consulate General in Dubai was led by H.E.  Danish Consul General, Bo Bjerregaard Rasmussen, ‏Acting Head of Mission, and Edith Mathilde Christmas, Commercial Advisor. They met with Amer Ali, Executive Director of DMCA, in the presence of senior managers as well as officials.

Amer Ali, the Executive Director of DMCA and H.E. Danish Consul General, Bo Bjerregaard Rasmussen, ‏Acting Head of Mission, the Royal Danish Consulate General, Dubai

The delegates appraised the UAE’s leading role on the global maritime map and discussed ways to strengthen maritime cooperation between the UAE and the Kingdom of Denmark. The bilateral discussions between both parties focused on the ‘Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre,’ a-first-of-its-kind hub for the settlement of maritime disputes in the Middle East in accordance with deliberate and independent legal frameworks and regulatory controls. The Centre is in line with Dubai Maritime Sector Strategy to promote the emirate’s competitiveness as a world-class global marine hub.

In addition to that, the two parties are looking to arrange a Danish delegation of maritime companies to visit DMCA in the end of this year, and are doing this in collaboration with Danish Maritime Association and the Danish Maritime Authority.

During the meeting, the delegation was informed about Dubai’s Maritime Sector Strategy (MSS). The MSS is based on an ambitious vision to organize, promote, develop and consolidate all components of the emirate’s marine community to create an integrated environment to make Dubai as the world’s leading maritime hub.

The group was also informed about the successive achievements in implementing the objectives of the MSS, especially those related to the promotion of the competitiveness components of the local maritime sector through renovation of infrastructure, the development of maritime regulations and legislations, and integration of logistic programs to ensure the management of marine operational processes is in accordance with the highest standards of occupational safety, best environmental practices, and local and international resolutions.

H.E. Danish Consul General, Bo Bjerregaard Rasmussen stated the importance of strengthening maritime cooperation between the UAE and Denmark, pointing out that Dubai has highly competitive potentials and very promising investment opportunities for leading international maritime companies. This comes in the light of the efforts exerted by DMCA to create an integrated environment capable of attracting regional and international investors and developing a maritime sector that is capable of responding to the rapid changes and keeping up with emerging trends. He also praised the launch of the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre which confirms the success of Dubai in utilizing its maritime resources to become a major marine destination in the regional and global levels. He further emphasized the need for solid foundations to move the bilateral marine relations between the two countries to a new level of excellence serving the common aspirations.

For his part, Amer Ali expressed his pleasure in meeting the Danish diplomatic delegation, pointing out that the visit reflects the keenness of the UAE and Denmark to strengthen maritime cooperation. He said such collaboration will benefit both parties optimally from emerging opportunities and promising prospects within the local maritime sector, enjoying highly competitive potentials from one of the major tributaries of economic growth.

Ali said: “The growing international interest in the potentials of Dubai’s maritime sector underlines the success of the emirate to reach the ranks of the most prominent maritime and commercial hubs in the world. This is possible because of the unlimited support and vision of the wise leadership to the efforts of DMCA, aiming to develop world-class regulations and legislation, modernization of infrastructure, operations and logistics, and diversify investment opportunities that will enhance Dubai’s competitive advantages in the regional and global maritime sectors.”