Global trade enabler DP World has signed on as a founding partner of Area 2071, an innovative ecosystem initiative designed to shape the future of the UAE and position it as the best nation in the world, and central to achieving the UAE Centennial 2071 Plan. In the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai at a signing ceremony at Emirates Towers, DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayam committed the company’s support to the future-focused initiative. Area 2071 will be an important vehicle in realising the five-decade nation-wide plan by focusing on its four main tenets – education, economy, government development, and community cohesion.
In partnership with governments who bring to the project their scale and regulation pathways, corporates and ‘experimenters’ including researchers, practitioners, founders and creatives will seek to transform industries with disruptive intent. DP World will contribute its resources, experience and expertise to exploring new operating models enabled by technologies, while tackling sector level inefficiencies and finding ways to establish new relationships between consumers and producers.
DP World Group Chairman and CEO SultanAhmed Bin Sulayem said: “By 2071 we see a world where today’s global trade and logistics networks have been replaced. Technology will be automated and intelligent, connecting consumers to goods and services directly, removing the need for intermediaries and expensive infrastructure development. This will lead to a dramatic reduction in the cost of trade and a rise in global prosperity. Our vision is to lead this disruption of our sector and ensure that all innovation serves to benefit mankind.
“With Mina Rashid Port, Jebel Ali Port and Jebel Ali Free Zone, we have been an integral part of the country’s growth and positioning as a hub for global trade and logistics. The UAE Centennial 2071 Plan will cement our great nation’s place in history as a founder of future world prosperity. We fulfilled the strategic vision of our leaders over the last fifty years and are ready to do so again. We can inspire the next generations to overcome all odds like we did to build the global supply chain of the future. To achieve our goal, we need to gather together bright minds from diverse groups for an integrated response, from innovators to public and private sector players to academia and society. Area 2071 is the perfect ecosystem in which to do so. “As a company built through innovation, ideas and technology, DP World is pleased to join this initiative to bring together great minds today to grow our societies tomorrow.”
As a founding member of Area 2071, DP World will bring together key players involved in the disruption of global trade and logistics, including governments and authorities, global manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, distribution, transport and IT experts. By inviting global corporates, NGOs, academia and leading innovation hubs in the US, UK, China, Canada, India, Russia, Germany and Brazil to join its efforts, the company aims to facilitate extensive interaction on a global scale with all stakeholders to address systems level challenges.
Photo Caption:His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai with DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem and other Area 2071 stakeholders at the signing ceremony at Emirates Towers.