Food Tech Summit underscores UAE's position as competitive international manufacturing hub

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group, today opened the leading global F&B event Gulfood Manufacturing at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

He was received at the event by Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) and Director General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism.

Reaffirming Dubai’s position as a global industrial hub and its crucial contribution to the F&B, manufacturing and hospitality sectors, Gulfood Manufacturing, along with four co-located events – GulfHost, The Speciality Food Festival, ISM Middle East (previously Yummex ME) and Private Label Licensing ME – will run until 10th November 2022.

The first day of Gulfood Manufacturing saw insightful discussions from global industry leaders at the Food Tech Summit, that underscored the UAE’s position as a competitive international manufacturing hub, in line with the government’s Operation 300bn and Make it in the Emirates initiatives. In a keynote address, Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Development Bank, touched on the importance of strengthening food security in order to foster a healthy, reliant and sustainable economy in the UAE. For him, UAE industrial strategy and food security strategy go hand in hand.

Ahmad Sultan Al Haddad, Chief Operating Officer - Parks and Zones, DP World touched on the attraction of Dubai from a logistics point of view. Thanks to a technologically advanced, connected and efficient port, Dubai Ports has already developed a food and beverage cluster of 1,000 companies, spread over 1 million square feet, and is well positioned to capture further growth.

Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre commented,

“As the UAE Government continues its ambitious growth strategy with initiatives such as Operation 300bn, Gulfood Manufacturing along with the four other co-located events will play a vital role in supporting this vision. With this year’s events set to be our best yet – and day one already a huge success – we are pleased to be working with some of the top decision-makers and brands across a huge variety of industries. These events offer a platform for them to come together to shape the future of the food industry and transform food systems across the UAE and beyond.”

News Source: Emirates News Agency