Dubai World Trade Centre marks 40th anniversary

Dubai: Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) marks its 40th anniversary this month. Since opening in 1979, the thirty-nine-storey, Shaikh Rashid Tower (commonly known as Trade Centre Tower) started its journey as the tallest structure in the Arab world and the symbol of business on the face of the Dh100 currency bill.

Since this it has become the centre of the 1.3 million square feet Dubai World Trade Centre complex.

Helal Saeed Al Merri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said: “Our founding father, Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, defined a bold vision — for Dubai to be ‘the’ globally recognised trade and business hub for the entire region, propelling a domestic economic agenda rooted in diversification — an unconventional and defiant position to adopt for any nation in the Middle East given the traditional stronghold of oil-driven GDP growth.”

Al Merri said Shaikh Rashid’s vision still guides DWTC’s mission and aims to soar to heights ‘beyond’ what many believed to be ‘possible.’ “His mandate since DWTC’s inception has been our guiding beacon in defining our mission and strategic priorities that have over the years focused on shaping Dubai’s core proposition as a hub for tourism, trade and finance.”

DWTC’s success “will grow even stronger as we enter the next era of enablement of the city’s digitised, hyper-connected, new-age business ecosystem.”

Since opening in 1979, DWTC has hosting over 5,000 business and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) events, with an economic output of Dh200 billion, according to statement released by DWTC on Friday. In that same time, DWTC has attracted over 30 million business visitors to Dubai, 12 million of which were from international markets.

It plays host to over 600 events annually across key sectors, including technology and innovation, health care, energy and sustainability, real estate, food and beverage, hospitality, automotive and transportation.