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The Sharjah FDI Office announced that Gulftainer has joined the Sharjah Investment Forum 2026 as a strategic sponsor, reinforcing the event’s focus on translating high-level policy discussions into tangible infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships. Organised in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Investment, the forum will convene on October 14 and 15 at the Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre in Sharjah under the theme of Building Adaptive Economies. The sponsorship brings the expertise of one of the region’s leading ports and logistics operators directly into conversations about economic competitiveness at a time of rapid global shifts, according to a statement from the office. The move aligns the forum’s agenda with practical examples of sustained investment in multimodal connectivity and supply chain innovation.
Gulftainer is advancing its $2 billion Global Trade Infrastructure Strategy, which the company unveiled on July 8 and which seeks to integrate ports, maritime shipping, inland logistics, industrial parks and AI-powered supply chains into a unified ecosystem. A central element of that programme centres on the Khorfakkan Commercial Terminal, where capacity will rise from 3.5 million to 5 million twenty-foot equivalent units under a long-term master plan that ultimately targets more than 10 million TEUs. Integration with the UAE’s Etihad Rail network will position the terminal as a fully multimodal gateway linking sea, road and rail transport. The strategy, structured around four platforms including GT Ports, GT Logistics, GT Parks and GT Maritime, aims to connect Sharjah more deeply with corridors such as the India-Middle East Economic Corridor and China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Gulftainer said in its July release.
The logistics component will expand combined inland capacity at Al Dhaid and Sajaa parks to 2.3 million TEUs while the first phase of Al Dhaid Logistics Park alone will cover 1.5 million square metres. Those sites will house bonded and non-bonded warehousing, cold-chain facilities, distribution centres, light industrial units and multimodal transport services. Such developments support the UAE’s broader goals for diversified and globally connected growth, according to the statement detailing the sponsorship. The forum sponsorship allows Gulftainer to showcase how these on-the-ground projects contribute to the resilience now demanded by governments and businesses worldwide.
Mohamed Juma Al Musharrkh, CEO of Invest in Sharjah, said in the announcement, “As global economic dynamics continue to evolve, resilience is increasingly being shaped by the quality of partnerships between governments, investors and businesses.” He added, “The Sharjah Investment Forum is designed to transform those partnerships into practical action by bringing together the organisations, ideas and investments that are redefining how economies grow and compete.” Al Musharrkh noted that Gulftainer’s involvement reflects the sector leadership the event seeks to highlight when resilience and innovation rank high on regional and international agendas.
Farid Belbouab, Group CEO of Gulftainer, said, “Resilience is no longer built in boardrooms. It is built on quays, corridors, infrastructures, solutions, talents, and in partnerships between government and the private sector.” He continued, “At Gulftainer, our $2 billion investment is about connecting ports to parks to people, so Sharjah and the region can trade faster, smarter, and through any disruption.” Belbouab added that adaptive economies require adaptive infrastructure and that projects such as the Khorfakkan expansion, inland parks and AI-driven chains create the backbone enabling trade to reroute, recover and expand.
The previous edition of the Sharjah Investment Forum, held in 2025 alongside the World Investment Conference, drew more than 12,000 participants from 142 countries, the organisers reported. That gathering featured 130 ministers and international leaders across more than 160 sessions. The 2026 programme will build on that scale by examining global investment trends, AI-driven transformation, industrial development, logistics, entrepreneurship and emerging sectors. By featuring institutions that are already delivering real-world change, the forum seeks to convert dialogue into concrete partnerships and investment opportunities.
SIF 2026 arrives as Gulftainer’s July strategy launch has placed fresh emphasis on end-to-end supply chain solutions that span from quay to final customer, the company stated. Those initiatives are expected to strengthen Sharjah’s established role as a bridge between east and west while supporting expanded trade with Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. The sponsorship therefore grounds the forum’s thematic discussions in active infrastructure programmes already under way across the emirate.
