Corridor Group engages international logistics community in Munich
The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) and Namport where two of the 2,162 exhibitors from 62 countries showcasing their products and services at the International Exhibition for Logistics, Mobility, IT and Supply Chain Management, held in Munich, Germany last week.
With a total count of 60,726 recorded visitors from 123 countries,Transport Logistic is one of the world’s biggest trade fair for freight transport covering all modes and held every two years in Munich.
“In pursuance of our ongoing efforts to position Namibia as a regional Logistics Hub, the WBCG and Namport used this opportunity to promote Namibia as Gateway to Southern Africa,” WBCG spokesperson Beau-Ann Beukes said in a statement.
The event this year attracted some of the world’s leading service providers, which also offered a multitude of conferences covering a wide range of topics central to transport and logistics solutions.
With a distinct focus on the Namibia Logistics Hub Project and developments in the transport sector, most notably the new container terminal under construction, Beukes said that Germany’s reputation as a top logistics location, supported by excellent infrastructure and high-quality logistics service providers, could offer a wealth of possibilities for Namibia.
The visiting exhibitors engaged with the Logistics Alliance Germany at the event, which led to discussions to pursue further collaboration. The Logistics Alliance Germany is a public-private partnership between the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and the German Logistics industry, with the same objectives, mandates and responsibilities as the WBCG.
“Forming strategic alliances is a key focus area for WBCG. We are excited about the opportunities that the potential collaboration with Logistics Alliance Germany will bring to the Namibian logistics sector, though knowledge sharing and best practices to enhance service delivery”, explains Clive Smith, WBCG’s Logistics Hub Manager.
“With our Logistics Hub Project as the central theme, in-depth discussions were held with a number of Multinational Logistics and Transport companies as well as with a host of Freight and Business Associations,” Beukes said.
These similarities between the two organizations allows the WBCG to tap into the network, experience and knowledge of Logistics Alliance Germany and its members, to the benefit of our members and the Namibian Transport sector.
Logistics as a catalyst for trade remains central to the WBCG and Namport’s mandates and as such the cooperation with Logistics Alliance Germany will not only focus on capacity programs but will also seek to foster direct linkages between the two organisations’ members.
This global trade show, Beukes said is in line with a drive to attract global distribution companies to assist in developing the distribution opportunities via Namibia for the SADC region.
The participation of the WBCG and Namport at this year’s Transport Logistic was supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). GIZ and WBCG, through the Namibia-German Development Agreement, under the office of the National Planning Commission, with the end goal in mind in completing the Namibia Logistics Master Plan.
