The current unstable climate will pass. That's according to the chairman of Dubai's biggest trade operators.

The current unstable climate will pass. That's according to the chairman of Dubai's biggest trade operators.

“I believe anti-globalisation sentiments are just a phase, they won’t affect business the way as its being perceived currently,” remarked Sultan Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World, speaking during Day One of the 2017 World Government Summit.

He was responding to a suggestion made by CNN’s Richard Quest that the world is seeing a trend of protectionism emerging, affecting business and trade negatively. 

Bin Sulayem reckoned there was no danger of world trade lessening, but rather pointed to emerging countries, such as Africa, boosting business.

“International trade will continue to create jobs and drive economies. In our business, 75 per cent of our growth is from emerging countries,” he emphasised.

Senegalese President, Macky Sall echoed the sentiment that global trade was not lessening but rather growing in important. 

“Protectionism stems from fears of globalisation it would be a mistake to fall back onto our own economies, we are interdependent, so you need to have free movement of people and goods, with an international platform based on trade agreements with fair rules, according to level of development, protecting the weaker countries,” said the Senegalese President Macky Sall.

Bin Sulayem pointed out that the biggest danger to successful trade was the inefficiency of supply chains in Africa.

“The biggest opportunity is to create better transport infrastructure, there are ports but many countries in Africa are landlocked. We will achieve these by public-private-partnership (PPP) investment, as neither the government nor private companies can do this on their own, we need transparency,” he explained.

Sall reassured that his country’s future was based on three pillars embracing the principals of better infrastructure, agricultural and energy output, as well as new laws, to create a more resilient economy.

“We’re working achieving inclusive wealth. In general, Africans have changed, we try to promote infrastructure in a lot of countries, which costs a lot of money so we do need foreign investment,” he added.