AD Ports Group and the International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to collaborate on trade facilitation, digital trade, logistics, and transport. This cooperation will involve policy dialogue, digital trade solutions, capacity building, experience sharing, and technical assistance.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO of AD Ports Group, and Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of ITC, signed the agreement today.
Under the MoU, the two organisations will employ various solutions to streamline trade, enhancing the efficiency of the transport, maritime, ports, and logistics sectors in the United Arab Emirates, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and developing nations. They will assess and revise sector frameworks and policies to ensure their effectiveness, and improve border services according to international best practices. Both AD Ports Group and ITC will offer technical assistance to developing and least developed countries (LDCs), including support for the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) to facilitate faster and smoother cross-border trade.
This cooperation will also aim to make trade more inclusive and beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) while encouraging dialogue and consensus-building. The partners will provide advisory support to create SME-focused trade strategies and business solutions, and will promote the role of women traders in trade facilitation through empowerment programmes and initiatives.
The agreement also includes the promotion of joint services and solutions, and joint participation in events, conferences, and workshops on customs digitalisation, trade facilitation, ports, maritime, and logistics. Additionally, they will share experiences, networks, capacity building, and training in key areas of trade facilitation and customs excellence.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO of AD Ports Group, stated, “We are thrilled to be the first ports and logistics entity to sign such an MoU with ITC, highlighting AD Ports Group’s value proposition. This move strengthens our ties with international trade organisations, opens up new global investment opportunities, and promotes the UAE’s economic diversification in line with our leadership’s vision. Our collaboration with ITC in trade facilitation services and solutions will streamline transactions, integrate more small businesses into value chains, and enhance our overall efficiency. ITC shares our values and commitment to sustainability, and we are confident that working together will help us achieve our environmental goals.”
Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of ITC, commented, “Digitalisation is transforming the way small businesses in developing countries trade, providing timely information and making cross-border trade faster, easier, and more environmentally friendly. Through our new partnership with AD Ports Group, we look forward to leveraging their technology and advanced trade facilitation solutions to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs in international trade and create a more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable trading environment in the region and beyond.”
ITC, established in 1964 in Geneva, Switzerland, aims to promote international trade and exports from developing countries.
ITC offers tailored support to countries and clients through advisory services, capacity building, training and mentoring, free tools and business data, and trade-specific publications. It also assists governments and private sectors in improving the efficiency of their transport and logistics sectors through activities such as regulatory impact assessments, capacity building programmes, and trade digitisation.
