The third edition of LOGIX India 2022, held during “EXPO 2020 Dubai” in Dubai from March 21 to 23, 2022, was inaugurated by H E Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi Minister of State for Foreign Trade, UAE. Speaking on this occasion he stated that India-UAE Trade Agreement would offer a big boost to the logistics sector.
“India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CEPA) shall result in accelerated trade and investment and shall open a new world of opportunities. India is UAE’s largest Non-Oil Trade partner and the future is bright for India-UAE collaborations in Global supply chain logistics,” he stated.
Thanking H E Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi for inaugurating the event, Dr A Sakthivel, President, FIEO said, “India is committed to spend US$1.5 trillion on various infrastructure in the next 5 years which will facilitate our logistics by bringing efficiency and reducing its cost. Logistics is an important component of the economy and its role in manufacturing and exports can hardly be undermined.”
The FIEO President pointed out that at present the logistics cost in India is about 14% of GDP as against the international benchmark of 8-9%. However, the focus of the Government in addressing the cost through various measures have already started yielding results. Government is implementing the dual Bharatmala (road network) and Sagarmala (waterways network) to improve logistics backbone.
According to H E Ahmed Mahboob, Director General of Dubai Customs and the CEO of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, UAE has made significant progress in technology upgradation in customs and logistics sector and looks forward to support India in its mission for logistics sector transformation.
Complementing FIEO on organising LOGIX India in UAE, Sandeep Kumar Bayyapu, Deputy Chief of Mission, Indian Embassy, UAE mentioned, “The Indian economy is on the upswing. We have become the fastest growing major economy in the world. We endeavour to become a US$5 trillion economy by 2026. Indian logistics companies should form good partnerships with UAE companies and take advantage of technical expertise available in the region.”
The Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI), which represented the logistics sector with a more than 120-memer delegation to the ‘World Expo 2020’ along with ‘LOGIX INDIA 2022’ expressed huge expectations regarding the increase of bilateral trade between India and UAE.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Shankar Shinde, Chairman, FFFAI said that the FIEO organised mega event would have far reaching impact on the international trade of both the countries i.e. India and UAE. He thanked the Government of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry for supporting the FIEO to organise this important event with delegation from India including FFFAI.
Shinde stated that FFFAI being the national body of customs brokers and logistics service providers plays important role in facilitating the EXIM trade.
Shinde further highlighted that FFFAI provides regular inputs to the Government of India on various logistics trade challenges faced by the trade. In association with the government FFFAI conducts study on international project concerning creation of connectivity with new opportunities for EXIM trade and seamless movement.
“The participation itself has shown the seriousness of Indian business with UAE and searching for increasing trade partnership. We appreciate the efforts taken to organise the ‘Expo 2020 Dubai ’ and the participation response from several countries to join on the common platform to showcase their strength with innovative ideas for expansion of trade,” Shinde added.
According to the FFFAI Chairman, technology plays a very vital role in logistics and the industry people look forward to have a single window IT platform for the community in association with technology partners.
“The future of logistics is digital with paperless, faceless, contactless integration with seamless movement and hence we have our next convention organised in August focussed on digital to leverage logistics performance with international participation,” he added.
Shinde shared the success story of the FIATA World Congress which was held in September 2018 in India, organised by FFFAI. The event received tremendous responses from the logistics industry from across the world and created leadership position in logistics sector for India.
He pointed out that Indian Government plans to spend US$1.5 trillion in improving infrastructure and most of the investments will take place in improving airports, ports, roads and rail connectivity.
Sizeable investments will also be made in AI, IoT and Big Data for transformation of the supply chain and logistics industry.
“Global Logistics market size is estimated at US$4.3 trillion. With the recent signing of INDIA – UAE FTA, the trade opportunities between the two countries are expected to grow at phenomenal pace. Trade is expected to touch USD 100 billion in the next 5 years and most Indian items are now duty free to UAE,” Shinde added.
About 100 Indian companies were in UAE at the 3rd Edition of LOGIX India to meet their prospective trade partners and FIEO is playing a key role to facilitate trade and investments in the sector.
“We are excited at the prospects being offered in UAE post CEPA agreement and we look forward to exploring markets in Africa and MENA region through UAE,” stated Dr Ajay Sahai, Director General and CEO, FIEO.
The Inauguration ceremony session was also addressed and attended by Abdul Rahman bin Haider, Head of World Logistics Programme, UAE; Suresh Kumar, Chairman, Indian Business & Professional Council, UAE; and Nadia Abdul Aziz, President, National Association of Freight Logistics, UAE.
Followed by the inauguration of LOGIX INDIA 2022 the Business Session held on March 22 regarding India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was addressed by Dr A Sakthivel; AV Vijayakumar, Immediate Past Chairman, FFFAI; Parul Singh, Deputy Secretary, Dept of Commerce, Government of India; Omar Alkhan Abdulla, Director Dubai Chamber International Offices, UAE; Humaid Bin Salem, Chairman, The International Chamber of Commerce, UAE; as well as by Nadia Abdul Aziz and Dr Ajay Sahai.
The Valedictory Session along with Awards and Felicitations held on March 23 was addressed by Dr A Sakthivel; S Ramakrishnan, Past Chairman, FFFAI; and Nadia Abdul Aziz and Dr Ajay Sahai.
