The World Cargo Symposium 2025 kicked off in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday morning. This year, the event takes place at a moment of transition for the industry and international relations, with tensions high due to tariffs and trade wars, demanding innovation, collaboration and world leadership.
The UAE Minister of Economy H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri began the event, welcoming attendees to the three-day event and touching on the industry’s key priorities.
“We’re very proud to host this global gathering of thought leaders, industry innovators and the pivotal movement of aviation and logistics sectors as a global hub for connectivity, trade and innovation,” Al Marri stated.
“We want to take this opportunity to recognise the exceptional contribution of Emirates SkyCargo and all our national carriers and logistics players for their role in strengthening the UAE’s position.”
Pointing to the synergy between the UAE’s strategy and the focus points for the aviation industry, Al Marri highlighted the importance of connectivity, sustainability and partnership in the success of the sector.
“Let us use this forum to forge new partnerships, scale impactful solutions and turn our vision into globalisation, connectivity and free trade over fragmentation, polarisation and protectionism,” Al Marri declared.
Connecting through challenges
Recognising the nation’s role empowering connectivity, enabling resilience in supply chains and facilitating international cooperations, Al Marri highlighted how Dubai recorded a milestone moment in 2024 with over one million air traffic movements and the nation’s airport’s serving more than 40 million passengers.
“We’re seeing the sector expand rapidly, driven by surging e-commerce, increasing demand for just in time logistics and new marketing perishable and pharmaceuticals,” Al Marri stated. “On the other hand, we face confidence of global challenges, geopolitical volatility, tightening, revelations and historic imperative to decarbonise last and most recently, the global tariff conflict.”
Net Zero mission
Al Marri was clear in his opening that sustainability is also a key focus point for the industry, as it continues to aim to meet net zero by 2050 cargo: “The UAE recognises their responsibility and is acting decisively. As a recent host of the COP 28 summit, the UAE is advancing one of the most ambitious climate agendas in the global aviation dialogue.”
Looking to put sustainable aviation fuel front and centre, as the industry moves forward, the UAE has launched a SAF roadmap, which has set a target of producing 700 million litres of SAF annually by 2030.
“This could eliminate up to 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, while establishing the UAE as a region hub of sustainable aviation fuels,” Al Marri declared.
Innovation leads the industry
Recognised as an equally key part of the industry’s development is the introduction of digitalisation on a wider scale, from electronic airway bills and integrated logistics platforms to predictive analytics and AI enabled customs compliance.
“Technology is reshaping air cargo and it must embrace efficiency,” Al Marri said. “Visibility and traceability are no longer nice to have future. They are market expectations. Digital tools are critical, not just for competitiveness, but for regulatory compliance, especially in customs security and safety.”
