SHIPPING’s role in helping to diversify the economy of Qatar will feature strongly in the Lloyd’s List Maritime and Logistics Summit next month.

Qatar’s National Vision 2030, which aims to transform Qatar into a developed country capable of achieving sustainable development and securing a decent life for its current and future generations 12 years from now, identifies four interconnected pillars: economic, environmental, social and human.

Understanding the opportunities available to the maritime and logistics sectors — and the challenges they face — in the decade leading up to 2030 will set the tone for the summit in Doha on February 18.

Delegates will be welcomed to the event by the Minister of Transport and Communications, HE Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, and from the chief executive of Mwani Qatar, Captain Abdulla Al-Khanji.

The summit, under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, has received strong support from Qatar National Bank Group, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa.

At the Banker magazine’s 2019 awards ceremony held in London at the end of November, QNB won the Bank of the Year in the Middle East award for its leadership in the region. The group was praised for excellence in banking services and products, strong management, a sound business model and strategy.

QNB will give the keynote speech, outlining the financial contribution it has already made to Qatar’s infrastructural development, and setting out its priorities for the 10 years ahead.

Another significant backer is Milaha, Qatar’s leading maritime transport and logistics conglomerate, which has made a major contribution to Qatar’s economic diversification efforts and sustainable development.

Session 2 will be opened by Arun Sharma, head of Indian class society IR Class and chairman of the International Association of Classification Societies, who will look at the evolving role of risk management both in the Middle East region and globally.

He will be followed by Chris Pålsson, head of consulting at Lloyd’s List Intelligence, who will provide critical insight into global trade trends in maritime; and by Qatar Free Zones Authority, on the evolving place of transport hubs in the period up to 2030.

The third session focuses on liner shipping and Qatar’s new Hamad Port as an example of the diversified economy. Q Terminals and Mwani Qatar, the ports authority and host of the Qatar Summit, will pinpoint what they are looking for in ‘smart’ shipping and ‘smart’ logistics, with responses from French liner operator CMA CGM and from GAC, the professional services business.                             

In the final session, the spotlight will turn to safety, security, and sustainability with presentations from the business development director at Bureau Veritas, the French class society, from the chief executive of Milaha, and from the Middle East regional lead at Finnish technology group Wärtsilä.

Conference chairman Richard Clayton, who is chief correspondent at Lloyd’s List, will close the event. He will draw together the many threads to show that the transition of the maritime and logistics sectors to a more digital and connected ecosystem fits exactly into Qatar’s vision of a diversified economy. Qatar’s four pillars are very closely aligned with a vision of safe, secure and sustainable transportation and with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The Qatar Maritime & Logistics Summit will be held at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel in Doha ,with guided tours of Hamad Port and Doha, and a gala dinner on February 19.

Further details and registration can be found here.