Barcelona will be the world capital of international trade and logistics later this month. From June 26 to 28, the city will host the celebration of the World Congress of Free Zones, known internationally as the Annual International Conference and Exhibition (AICE 2019).
The event will take place at the Palau de Congresos de Fira de Barcelona and will be the largest international trade event ever held in Barcelona, for which it will enjoy the maximum international projection.
It will also be the first edition of the history of the World Free Zones Congress to be held in Europe, since the previous editions were held in Dubai and Cartagena de Indias. The candidature of Barcelona, represented by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, won in its day the proposals from Egypt, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Serbia.
This edition expects to bring together more than 1,500 leaders from the world’s leading free trade zones, as well as international trade decision-makers. ‘Free Zone 4.0 Meets Economy 4.0’ will be the theme of this fifth edition, which is expected to discuss the paradigm shift that is introducing the emergence of globalization and digitalization in production and commercial processes around the world.
The congress will be held in parallel with SIL 2019, the Leading Logistics, Transport, Intralogistics and Supply Chain Fair in Southern Europe; the eDelivery Barcelona Expo & Congress, the International Delivery, Logistics and Last Mile Fair in e-commerce; and the InTrade Summit BCN. This last event, in turn, includes the celebration of the ALACAT Congress, the largest congress of cargo agents and logistics operators in Latin America; the International Congress of Authorized Economic Operators (OEAs); and the MedaLogistics Summit.