fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia,

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan
Minister of Foreign Affairs, United Arab Emirates

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the website of the UAE’s high-level, public-private counter-piracy conference, which will be held from 11-12 September 2013 in Dubai. Now in its third year, the conference will be jointly convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates and ports operators DP World and Abu Dhabi Ports Company.

While the international community has made great strides in fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia, the UAE believes that maritime piracy, notably in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean, remains of serious global concern. We are convinced that successfully countering piracy can only be achieved if the international community enhances its efforts to build capacity in the region. With that in mind, we have chosen “Countering Maritime Piracy: Continued Efforts for Regional Capacity Building” as the theme for this year’s conference.

The UAE is pleased to host this high-level conference, which will be instrumental in providing a platform for ministers, international organizations, senior government and maritime security officials, leading business figures and academic experts to discuss ways to further align international efforts for regional capacity building.

The website provides background materials on maritime piracy and information related to the conference. We look forward to partnering with you in this important global initiative to eradicate maritime piracy.