AD Ports Group, the UAE’s major facilitator of trade, logistics, and industry, has signed a multiple collaboration agreements with China’s Shandong Port Group (SPG) for promoting automotive trade in KEZAD.
“The deal leverages the ‘Sister Ports’ agreement between Shandong Port and Khalifa Port to forge a partnership and strengthen cooperation between the two, announced in December 2021,” the UAE’s official news agency WAM wrote in a report.
Under the agreement, SPG will transport passenger vehicles from its ports in China to Autoterminal Khalifa Port, to be stored and displayed in KEZAD, the WAM report said.
According to AD Ports, the agreements covering all aspects of the operations, display and services, were signed at an event at Autoterminal Khalifa Port, which has already received the first batch of vehicles.
The new cooperation is established to strengthen the position of Abu Dhabi as a preferred destination for Chinese Automotive Industry.
China, the world’s largest economy, has become the leading exporter of electric vehicles, batteries, and other automotive products.
Commenting on the development, Abdullah Al Hameli, CEO of Economic Cities & Free Zones, AD Ports Group said, “Our agreement leverages the value various clusters of AD Ports Group brings to businesses. As an integrated hub for trade, logistics and Industry, KEZAD Group continues to support the development of the diversified economy of Abu Dhabi and the UAE in line with the vision of our wise leadership.”
He said, “We will continue to work with like-minded conglomerates like SPG to achieve this aim. Both Groups are active players in implementing China’s Belt and Road Initiative, further promoting trade cooperation and accelerating growth.”
Agreeing with him, Jai Funing, the Deputy General Manager of Shandong Port Group said, “SPG has always believed and advocated that ‘transportation is the artery of the economy, and the link to that binds civilisation.”
Funing explained that SPG plans to establish MENA regional centre in the UAE, and in Abu Dhabi more specifically, in 2023.
By continuously improving the overseas supply chain of product exports, it will rapidly improve the overseas market competitiveness of China’s tyre and commercial vehicle industries, SPG firmly believes in reaching a higher level of cooperation with AD Ports Group in the future.