UAE’s World Logistics Passport now covers 43 countries, boosting global trade

WLP
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By Arya M Nair, Official Reporter
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The World Logistics Passport (WLP), the global freight and logistics loyalty program established by Dubai Logistics World (DLW), has almost doubled in size in its second year of operation, with its footprint now covering over 40+ countries and nearly half of the global trade. 

The WLP members including India, Vietnam and Kazakhstan, among others, are to adopt a new declaration to accelerate global trade, which was announced at the second Annual WLP Global Summit.

The Summit hosted a mix of CEOs, government ministers and representatives of leading international trade bodies, who agreed to a joint declaration on the future direction of global trade.

Representatives included HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of the Emirates Group, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director-General, Foreign Trade Agency of Vietnam, Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, and Mr. Kairat Torebayev, Vice-Minister of Trade and integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Mahmood Al Bastaki
Mahmood Al Bastaki
GM -World Logistics Passport

“In last year’s inaugural WLP Global Summit, Mr. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem announced that the WLP network had grown to cover 23 countries. I am now pleased to announce that our network has almost doubled, with the WLP now covering 43 countries, accounting for 47 percent of global trade. Moreover, our network now consists of 121 WLP partners with more than 240 confirmed benefits, both cost and efficiency-related, offered to about 1000 businesses opted-in the program globally.”

Presented by H.E. Tatiana Clouthier, Secretary of Economy of Mexico, the declaration states that sustainable and inclusive global trade is fundamental to economic growth, resilience and multi-lateral cooperation, while also setting the ambition of the WLP to cover 75 percent of global nominal GDP by 2025.

At the Summit, the 2022 Global Freight Resilience Index, developed by Whiteshield, showed that freight resilience has increased across developing regions, including the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The Index comprises two sub-pillars, Policy Opportunity and Freight Performance. Vietnam was called out specifically for notable increases in freight resiliency amid continued pressure on global supply chains.

WLP Global Summit 2022 Declarations;

  • Sustainable and inclusive global trade is fundamental to economic growth, resilience and multi-lateral cooperation
  • The WLP is an integral part of the global economic response to boost international trade and aims to cover 75 percent of global trade by 2025
  • The WLP is inclusive and open to all countries and firms that fulfill minimum requirements in terms of capabilities and integrity
  • WLP will continue to work closely with international bodies such as the WCO and the WTO to make trade more sustainable and inclusive
  • The global governance of the WLP will be reinforced by the introduction of country co-chairmanship rotating on an annual basis
  • A new private-sector council will be launched to advise the WLP at the global level
  • The WLP will collaborate with International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to identify new modes of financing to address capability gaps in multi-modal logistics infrastructure
  • The WLP will work to accelerate the introduction of digital (soft) infrastructure to make trade more efficient and productive for all stakeholders
  • The WLP will continue to support important international initiatives such as the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program of the WCO by offering a more comprehensive range of benefits from other logistics partners such as ports, airports and airlines.

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