World Free Zones’ Conference & Exhibition will emphasise present hurdles in facilitating global trade, with special mention of the impacts of the pandemic on global trade
Dubai is hosting the ninth Annual International Conference & Exhibition (AICE) of the World Free Zones Organisation (World FZO). This Conference will be hosted from May 2-3, under the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
The ninth edition of World FZO will bring together leaders from free zones across the globe. The agenda is to discuss problems, solutions, priorities, and future related to the sector. It is anticipated that this will attract 600 plus industry magnates alone; apart from other experts from the free zone, trade, and logistics sectors, it will also bring entrepreneurs and investors from more than 70 countries.
The agenda consists of five-panel discussions with 30 speakers to throw light upon the theme ‘Global Tarde 2.0: Zones, An Ecosystem of Trust Driving Prosperity’. The discussions will emphasise points relating to minimising the effect of economic challenges, establishing and sustaining standards of trust, and procedures to keep up the vibrance of free zones via plans of growth benefitting both sides.
This edition will include ministers and top-level government officials from various countries for a special ministerial dialogue termed “The Role of Governments in Developing Free Zones and Improving Their Performance”.
This dialogue will act as a podium to openly discuss the problems and possible solutions, adding friction to achieving the government’s aim of implementing the finest level of operability in free zones. This will also help in running down the numbers on the direct and indirect contributions of free zones to the economies of countries.
This event will emphasise present hurdles in facilitating global trade, with special mention of the impacts of the pandemic on global trade.
The organisation consists of 1550 plus members from across 140 countries. It has 12 regional offices and 42 national focal points globally.
The main role of the organisation expands as free zones rely more on its assistance, services, and group of strategic partnerships that join its members ideologically.
Free zones have provided immense growth in terms of generating employment opportunities and have benefited the global economy vastly.
The organisation was formed a decade ago, and since then, it has worked tirelessly in empowering and joining more members and offering top-notch and thorough services to its members.
The organisation is focused on enhancing partnerships amongst its members and creating opportunities for further collaboration to move forward towards their common objective of achieving growth and prosperity for global economies with the help of free zone models.
His Excellency Dr. Mohammed AL Zarooni, Chairman of the World Free Zones Organization, said they were proud to organise the event that represents the debut point in a new phase of the organisation’s trajectory as they prepare to enter the last year of the first decade of conducting operations.
He added that the achievements of the organisation in this particular event would help them in devising a blueprint for the upcoming five years. They will work towards accumulating the role of the free zone model as an extensive economic concept with adequate horsepower to drive the global economy. This is the need of the hour as governments are looking for innovative economic reforms to be aligned with the changes, which are affected by trends moving towards knowledge-based economic activities and high-tech sectors.
He concluded his speech by saying that this ninth edition will provide ideas about the upcoming trends and globally accepted processes in the free zone sector. The World FZO was formed to function as a collective voice for all free zones across the globe and as a stage to share information and knowledge about free zones to empower themselves for socio-economic development and attract foreign direct investment. It has a pivotal role to play as more than a third of world trade goes through free zones, making these zones responsible for the effectiveness, safety, and smooth world trade.
Dubai was confirmed to host this year’s event unanimously by the Board of Directors of the World FZO last year in Jamaica. Dubai is the official headquarters of the World FZO, and it was chosen concerning the capabilities of this city in attracting the world towards itself. It offers impeccable expertise and support towards the development of free zones for an integrated economic ecosystem.
