Governments of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) countries must explore innovative ways of working together as trading blocs to ensure the long term success of the initiative, DP World Group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem has said.

After participating in a panel discussion exploring Europe-Asia infrastructure connectivity at the Astana Economic Forum in Kazakhstan last week, Bin Sulayem said trading blocs such as the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and other European cooperative organisations need to focus on the provision of basic infrastructure and the networking of transport and logistics for nations to realise the economic benefits, said a statement.

Only by doing this, they would attract investors to bridge the estimated $5 trillion infrastructure gap of OBOR countries, he said.

One Belt, One Road project aims the creation of an economic land belt that includes countries on the original Silk Road through Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East and Europe, as well as a maritime road that links China’s port facilities with the African coast, pushing up through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean.

He suggested that less bureaucracy and cross border cooperation with more hard and soft infrastructure is needed to promote seamless trade movement to achieve the goals of the OBOR plan.

Bin Sulayem met the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov at the forum and shared the panel session with Askar Mamin, President of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the national railway company of Kazakhstan, and other government and railway experts from around the world.    

He said the European, Central Asian and Middle Eastern states’ transportation grid, communications networks, energy resources and electricity systems are key to developing wealth and the OBOR corridor can only prosper when human resources, logistics and trade flows have been enabled by provision of integrated infrastructure.

These trading blocs have the capacity to bring about change and to ensure engagement and equal partnerships with China, complementing national efforts to increase collaboration through public private partnerships (PPPs) and other models.   

Bin Sulayem said: “Commentators estimate that OBOR countries need another $5 trillion for infrastructure development from 2016 to 2020. One way to fund it is by trading blocs finding innovative ways of working together with a focus on infrastructure provision, developing the financial markets, mitigating risks and eliminating red tape to attract investors.”  

“At DP World, we have global experience of enabling trade. We have 77 marine and inland terminal across six continents – all with governments and other stakeholders because we are stronger together in realising new trade routes and ensuring global connectivity. This means using multi-modal transport options by road, rail, air and sea linked to free zones, marine and inland container terminals in locations where customers want them to be and where there is demand,” he said.

“All of this is then backed by soft infrastructure and digital technologies that enable trade to happen and increase efficiencies. Our flagship Jebel Ali port and Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) are leading trade enabling examples featuring connected transport modes and reducing costs for business. The facilities are linked through ‘smart’ technologies that deliver faster, safer and more efficient services, including the Dubai Trade electronic portal, which serves as a one-stop shop for customs, clearance and all related services,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service