Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale) brought together over 50 maritime and air cargo experts, from more than 20 countries, in Dubai from 12th to 14th September, where they agreed on the need for multimodal collaboration to tackle shared challenges.

The event followed a unique format: day 1 featured independent tracks for Air Cargo and Maritime, while day 2 brought both sectors together for joint deliberations.

Discussions focused on forward-looking themes, including Air Cargo 2030, rethinking ports in the context of new infrastructure, policies and future demands, the rise of smart terminals and community-driven ecosystems, and the growing impact of e-commerce.

Delegates agreed that smart ports and port community systems are the future, with ports now competing on customer-facing, multimodal value rather than connectivity alone.

Sustainability was identified as the most pressing issue, with calls to end siloed approaches, use technology to drive efficiencies, and better communicate progress.

“Our aim with combining the two tracks of our summit was to create a multi-modal space for us to discuss the issues that affect the entire industry,” said Vineet Malhotra, Director and Founder, Kale Logistics.

The delegation also discussed port and airport competition, noting that the two no longer compete solely on connectivity, but also require multimodal integration to remain competitive.

“Ports and airports can no longer afford to act in isolation, because the challenges we face, whether cutting emissions, improving resilience, or adapting to new trade patterns, require a collective response,” added Malhotra.

“The summit showed there is real appetite for collaboration, and technology will be the enabler of the changes we need.”

Kale will publish a research paper capturing key insights from the discussions on sustainability, smart ports, and multimodal collaboration.