Saudi Maritime Congress Aligns Its Agenda To Highlight Key Objectives Of Vision 2030

The Kingdom’s leading maritime & logistics event, the Saudi Maritime Congress is all set to take place on 28-29 September 2022, at Dhahran Expo, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The third edition of the much-anticipated event brings together leading personalities in the region’s maritime sector, who will share insights regarding the current trends observed in the industry, and collectively discuss strategies to achieve the objectives set by the Saudi Vision 2030.

With a strategically designed agenda and a power-packed line-up of speakers, the event will facilitate valuable knowledge transfer amongst attendees regarding the opportunities that lie in the region for domestic and international maritime and logistics companies. Through sessions dedicated to enhancing trade in the region and improving port standards with the help of advanced technologies, the event will catalyse the growth of the industry in the region. Additionally, the event’s “Outlook for Oil and Gas Transportation” session will serve as the ideal discussion point to understand how the energy market has been changing in the recent past, and will evolve in the future.

H.E. Dr. Rumaih bin Mohammed Al-Rumaih, Deputy Minister of Transport and Logistics and Acting Head of the Public Transport Authority, said: ”During the past decade, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has devoted all efforts to developing its maritime sector. The importance of this vital sector in the Kingdom stems from its strategic location that links three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. It has shores overlooking the Red Sea in the West and the Arabian Gulf in the East and has one of the longest coasts worldwide. Saudi Arabia is one of the most important global trade hubs, with over 13 per cent of the Global trade passing through its waters.

His Excellency added, “The maritime sector is a major supporter for ensuring continuous flow of the global supply chains. Therefore, developing and supporting the maritime sector is one of our key priorities to ensure national prosperity and development as well as the prosperity of global trade. In this regard, the Kingdom is an active member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and adopts many strategic projects and initiatives to protect the global marine environment. The Saudi maritime sector is a major contributor to the national economy through the great capabilities of the national maritime trade fleet, which last year topped the Middle East and ranked 20th globally in the maritime transport industry. Moreover, the tonnage of our fleet reached more than 13 million tonnes.”

“The National Industrial Development and Logistics Program launched under the umbrella of Saudi Vision 2030 aims at transforming the nation into a leading industrial powerhouse and global logistics hub. This program achieved great success as it was able to enhance the connectivity of the nation by adding five new shipping lines to the Kingdom’s ports. Progress such as this is of great importance to not only strengthen, but also diversify the economy of the nation. This is why we are keen on planning more strategies that could enable greater progress and transform the Kingdom into a Superpower. Events such as the Saudi Maritime Congress are ideal for such discussions and all the leading maritime organisations meet here and bring great value to the table. Combining their strengths and innovative ideas will surely bring us closer to our desired outcome,” His Excellency further explained.

Major investments

During the pandemic, the maritime sector was one of the only industries that continued to operate and keep the economy running. Saudi Vision 2030 recognises the maritime & logistics sector as a key area of focus – a forward-thinking decision validated by the events of the Pandemic.

The Kingdom has been investing heavily in its seaports to modernise their infrastructure and increase their capacity. Several projects are now underway to boost the maritime transport sector, costing around SAR six billion.

Saudi Maritime Congress offers a structured dialogue to add further value to these investments by building partnerships that could strengthen the capabilities of the sector and enable it to achieve the objectives set for Saudi Vision 2030.

Chris Morley, Group Director – Maritime Events, Informa Markets said: “During the 3^rd edition of the Saudi Maritime Congress, we look forward to directing our themes and initiatives to contribute towards achieving the Kingdom’s ambitious vision for 2030. We have worked tirelessly and strategically to prepare an agenda that will aid in this mission, and have strived to ensure that the networking and discussions that take place during the event will bring the nation closer to its goal. In order to support this purpose, we have organised a session dedicated to the Saudi Vision 2030, “Vision 2030: An Update on Progress and Opportunity for Growth,” where we will bring together representatives from internationally renowned maritime organisations and leaders from the Kingdom’s maritime & logistics sector who will discuss the latest updates on the road to 2030, and will highlight potential areas for development and growth.”