World FZO Newsletter

Chairman's Message
Dear World FZO Community,
World Free Zones Organization reached a new milestone
earlier this month. Under the patronage of HH Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and
Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, World FZO
hosted its 2nd Annual International Conference and
Exhibition (AICE) in Dubai again on the 9th – 11th May.
This year’s theme “Global Value Chain: Opportunities for the
Free Zone of the Future” was inaugurated by HH Sheikh
Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of
Dubai. World FZO’s AICE is the perfect platform for free zone authorities and tenants to
exchange knowledge and experience, to network and to conduct B2B. The 2nd AICE brought
together 680 delegates from 60 countries and it hosted 37 speakers with a variety of
expertise. Some of the prominent keynote speeches were given by HE Sultan Al Mansoori,
Minister of Economy in UAE, Joakim Reiter, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD and
Alexander Mora, Minister of Foreign Trade in Costa Rica. This month’s newsletter is
dedicated to the success and great achievement of World FZO’s 2nd AICE. Have a good
read and as always, we welcome your feedback and comments.
World FZO 2nd Annual International
Conference and Exhibition
HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai attends the Opening Ceremony of the
World FZO 2nd Annual International Conference and Exhibition.
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Launch of Free Zone of the Future
In the presence of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al
Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, the ‘Free Zone of the Future’
(FZF) program was launched. The FZF Program is a global
initiative revolving around three main pillars that will enable free
zones around the world to contribute to a secure and sustainable
future. The pillars constituting the program are: Excellence and
Best Practices; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and
Sustainability. These three pillars contain nine components to help determine the tools and
resources required for facilitating the program to achieve its long-term objectives.
Panel Discussions
A total of five panel discussions were held during the conference. The first panel discussed
Governance in Global Value Chains (GVCs) and focused on the evolution of Global Value
Chains in an increasingly interdependent world.
Speaking on the topic, Henry Yeung, Professor of Economic Geography in National
University of Singapore said: “There needs to be a focus on the idea of strategic coupling,
which is to think of how domestic firms can couple with the competitive imperatives of global
firms in global production networks. It is equally important to encourage the collaboration
between foreign firms and domestic firms. These linkages need to be developed as they
grow local SMEs into significant players in the global economy.”
This was followed by a panel that examined global free zone challenges, and the implications
of various policies and incentives that impact investment and operations in free zones
around the world. The panel highlighted the importance of analyzing the investment policy,
human resource skills building, trade facilitation, lean bureaucratic processes and quality of
life offered and other incentives being used by the governments to attract FDI and retain
local investment.
The third panel focused on GVCs from a multinational corporation perspective, and
discussed the significant role played by MNCs in the rise of such global production networks
as they seek locational advantages to match their specific needs. Habib Fekih, President of
Airbus Middle East and Tom Barnes, CEO of Integration Point, conveyed the MNC
perspective in the panel discussion.
The fourth panel of the conference highlighted the impact of
Global Value Chains (GVC) on the free zones of the future,
as well as the opportunities they presented for economic
development.
Speaking in the panel discussion, Gary Gereffi, Professor of
Sociology, and founding director of the Center on
Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness at
Duke University, USA, described the freezones of the
future as a meeting point, and elaborated on how they had
changed over time. He also highlighted the importance of
being aware of inefficient processes that cause a freezone
to lose money. To combat this, Gereffi advised attendees to
invest in technologies and processes that allow them to
avoid such inefficiencies.
The final panel took it further to explore the next practices,
rather than best practices, for the Free Zone of the Future
and it was based on a workshop that took place earlier.
Speaking in the panel discussion on the best practices
utilised in freezones, Mohan Guruswamy, Chief Knowledge
Officer at World FZO, UAE, noted that there is a positive relationship between global
economic growth and the growth of freezones. He also spoke about how technology plays a
major role in changing the landscape of the global economy.
Workshops
During the conference, various workshops were running simultaneously. Workshop topics
included Attracting Investment to Free Zones, Setting up a Free Zone, Next Practices, Green
Zones, Innovation and Economic Impact of Free Zones. Experts from the World Bank, SRI
International, Dubai Carbon, Investment Consulting Associates, Potential, Dubai Silicon
Oasis and Personal Cities conducted the workshops.
World FZO Board Meeting
World Free Zones Organization held the 5th Board of Directors meeting; the meeting included
a general address from Dr Mohammed Alzarooni, Chairperson, followed by a report from the
CEO. Auditors KPMG also presented the 2015 financial statement, which was approved by
the 13 other board members and later by the General Assembly.
The next board meeting will be on the 14th November 2016.
World FZO General Assembly
The last day of the conference hosted the 2nd General Assembly. During the two hour
assembly, 65 voting members re-elected the Board of Directors, approved the organizations
audit report, approved the financials for 2015 and budget for 2016. After careful
consideration, Dr. Mohammed Alzarooni, Chairperson also announced that as of July 2016
membership costs will be reduced from $3000 to $1500 per annum for Voting and Associate
members. For more information on membership please contact membership@worldfzo.org
Bids for our 3rd Annual International Conference and Exhibition started late last year.
Expression of interest were received from 7 candidates, of which three voting members
were shortlisted; National Association of Industries (ANDI), Colombia, Freeport of Riga,
Latvia and Association of Free Zones, Panama (AZOFRAP). The finalists were asked to
present their proposal to the Board of Directors ahead of the General Assembly. The winner
was selected through voting process amongst the board and Cartagena was selected as the
next host city. The 4th AICE will be back in Dubai and bids for the 5th AICE is open from
now. For more information on hosting the AICE please contact events@worldfzo.org
Launch of New Services
FZ Monitor and Incentive Map
New services were launched during the conference like the Free Zone Monitor and the
Incentive Map. The Free Zone Monitor is an electronic tool that measures, benchmarks and
ranks free zones based on their attractiveness as potential investment location. The
Incentive Map is a map that pinpoints the investments made in 20 countries during the past
5 years.
Self-assessment Tool
Dr Samir Hamrouni, CEO of World FZO has announced that World FZO will introduce selfassessment tools for free zones. This tool will be a diagnostic one which identifies where a
free zone stands and pinpoints the existing gaps. The self-assessment tool will be
accompanied by a manual and a procedure for implementation. The main three areas that
these tools are intended to diagnose are green zones, safe zones and innovation in zones.
The green zone self-assessment tool will be ready on June 30, 2016.
World FZO Executive Education Program
The conference concluded with the launch of the World Free Zone Executive Program in
partnership with IESE Business School. The program is set to provide a cutting-edge
executive development experience tailored to the needs of free zone leaders. It will be
delivered over six months in different locations around the globe like Dubai, New York,
Shanghai and Barcelona, starting the 26th of September 2016. The deadline for applying is
30th June 2016. For more information contact knowledge@worldfzo.org
MoUs
World FZO signed MoU with Mexican
Association of Industrial Parks
World FZO signed MoU with BASCAP
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World Free Zones Organization
1090, 1st Floor, 7W-B, Dubai Airport Free Zone | PO Box 371113 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
T: +971 4 204 5473 | F: +971 4 295 2945 | E: info@worldfzo.org
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