H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi Inaugurates the 8th edition of Offshore Arabia Conference & Exhibition

H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, inaugurated today the eighth edition of the Offshore Arabia Conference and Exhibition at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre accompanied by a number of officials, specialists, and key note speakers from the region and the world. Offshore Arabia is held this year under the theme “Innovate – Adapt & Evolve An Eye on the Current Situation & The other on the Future”. 

Following the traditional ribbon cutting ceremony, H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, toured the exhibition area and met representatives from various participating companies specialized in the marine and maritime industry. H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, announced in his opening speech: “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, which will be discussed during the Offshore Arabia Conference. We are looking forward to reading the recommendations of those 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.”

H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi went on saying: “This year, Offshore Arabia 2016 chose “Innovate, Adapt & Evolve, an Eye on the Current Situation & other on the Future” to be its theme. That same theme symbolizes the essence of all the strategic initiatives taken 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.”

From his side, H.E. 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 Vs. moderate growth potential. You can imagine what it means if the Container lines could lose as much as $10bn this year as projected? Could you imagine the incredible slow down & low pricing structure of all commodities.”

He continued on saying: “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.”

Commenting about the offshore industry in the UAE, H.E. 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 $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 m. Tons of chemical production.”

“Yes, time is challenging but business do innovate and regenerate itself, if it has the right environment. The real Big Bang is the planned Saudi Aramco IPO is looking at 3 way listing in New York, London, and Hong Kong. The listing of only 5% of the company, which could raise $100 to $150 billion. This will have a tremendous positive change to the GCC region economy and future invest in all sectors of economy.” He concluded 

Eng. Anas Al Madani, Vice-Chairman and Group CEO of INDEX Holding, commented: “The Offshore sector has always been a vital one that contributes to our national economy. Through Offshore Arabia Conference & Exhibition, we strive to support this sector and also highlight the marine and maritime sectors and come up with sustainable and environment-friendly solutions.”

Eng. Anas Al Madani added: “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.”

On the sidelines of the opening ceremony, an MOU Signing Ceremony, took place between the Dubai Council for Marine and Maritime Industries (DCMMIemirates) and the World Ocean Council (WOC). The memorandum of understanding was signed by each of Mr. Paul Holthus, President and CEO of World Ocean Council (WOC), and HE Mr. Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of Dubai Council for Marine and Maritime Industries (DCMMIemirates). The MOU aims to promote corporate ocean responsibility, ocean sustainable economic development, and responsible ocean economic activity. 

Following his tour in Offshore Arabia, H.E. Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, visited Dubai Drink Technology Expo and he was introduced to the latest cutting-edge technologies in beverage production industry and its related services.

Offshore Arabia Conference & Exhibition is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. The event is organised yearly by INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions Organisation Est. – member of INDEX Holding, and it is running until the 18th of May at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.