Dubai has evolved into a major logistics hub to access and serve the thriving market of more than 2.5 billion consumers in the wider Middle East region, said a top government official.

Ibrahim Mohamed Aljanahi, the deputy chief executive of Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the UAE's flagship free zone entity, was speaking at the "Invest in Dubai" seminar organized by Falcon and Associates during "Dubai Week in China" in Beijing.

Addressing the gathering at the panel discussion "Why Dubai," he talked about the historic Dubai-China relation that continues to grow stronger by every passing year.

"Dubai-China trading relations go back to the days of the Silk Road that continues unabated with Dubai and Jafza playing a crucial role in supporting President Xi Jinping's One Belt, One Road initiative providing China with efficient multi-modal connections to key markets across Asia, Africa and Europe. These are the markets we as a trade and logistics hub serve," he noted.

"China is at present the biggest trade partner of Jafza. More than 248 leading Chinese multinationals in diverse sectors, from oil and gas, electronics, heavy machinery, engineering, construction to automotive, have chosen Jafza as their home. All these companies are serving the entire region through their respective regional headquarters at the Free Zone," Aljanahi added.

He stressed on the role of Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) as the logistics hub for serving all key markets in the wider Middle East region, which spans from West Asia, the CIS, Africa and the Indian Subcontinent.

"The evolution of Dubai as the gateway and a hub for such a huge market demonstrates the power of great vision and astute planning," he noted.

"The Free Zone attracted practically all big multinationals into the Free Zone who were interested in the wider Middle East's rapidly growing economies. Thousands of world's top multinationals today have established their regional headquarters in Jafza and serve all key markets in the entire region efficiently," he added.

Aljanahi also talked about the recently developed Dubai Logistics Corridor which allows all Jafza-based companies to transfer their cargo from one mode to another in less than an hour, the fastest turn-around in the world.

Jafza, he said, was the only free zone in the world, which is located between the two largest trade enablers viz. Jebel Ali Port, the largest container terminal, and Al Maktoum International Airport, the biggest cargo and passenger airport, in the region.

According to him, the Free Zone is a 30-minute drive away from the Dubai International Airport.

"Dubai is today considered one of the top aviation hubs in the world with Dubai International Airport ranked the busiest airport. More than 140 airlines serve Dubai and Al Maktoum International Airports providing the fastest air connection to reach any destination in the world at the shortest possible time. Jebel Ali Port, on the other hand, is today one of the top 10 container ports in the world and the largest in the region," he said.

Arif Amiri, the deputy chief executive of DIFC, delivered key note speech before the panel discussion. Hongbin Cong, the managing director of Invest Dubai, Falcon Associates and Gerald Lawless, the president and CEO of Jumairah Group were the panelists.-TradeArabia News Service