Referring to attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, the CEO of one of the world’s largest port operators said “trade is resilient and will find its way to the market”.
A Thursday report in Khaleej Times quoted Sultan bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of Dubai-based DP World and chairman of the the city’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, as saying that “people will eat, consume, sell and buy. This ensures that the Red Sea is a temporary issue.”
“People talk about vessels that are not going but not about vessels that are going. There are many vessels that are continuing (operations).”
Speaking at the annual event organised by Dubai Chambers, he also said: “Today, for example, to reach CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries, we can send goods from Pakistan. It takes eight days through amazing routes.”
CIS is a confederation of countries that used to form the Soviet Union and include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
“We own many ports around the world so we have enough cargo to ship. These are alternatives. We need to invest more in the supply chain because this is the most undisruptive business,” Sulayem added.
He noted that “we have four ports in Red Sea – Djibouti, Somaliland, Egypt and Jeddah. There is still business going on. Naturally, there are disturbances and noises there but trade is resilient.”
Meanwhile, Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair, chairman of Dubai Chambers, said trade and business will continue and UAE firms will find different routes to do business.
