Peter Peters

Peter Peters serves as a key lobbyist for DP World, a UAE-based global logistics leader operating across 78 countries. His work primarily advances DP World’s interests in trade infrastructure, port operations, and supply chain policies. Accredited to the European Parliament until August 2025, Peters strategically navigates EU regulatory frameworks to align with DP World’s expansion goals. His activities—spanning the U.S. and EU—focus on influencing trade legislation, customs reforms, and transport directives, leveraging DP World’s position as a critical player in global maritime trade. Peters operates within tightly knit policy networks, coordinating with industry groups like FEPORT and the European Logistics Platform to amplify UAE-driven trade agendas

Peter Peters lobbies overtly for DP World’s operational objectives while advancing the UAE’s geopolitical interests. Publicly, his advocacy emphasizes “making trade flow better” through port modernization and supply chain efficiency. This aligns with DP World’s expansion of UAE-controlled ports in Europe (e.g., Constanța, Romania) and the Americas.

Covertly, Peters’ work reinforces UAE strategic goals:

Economic Influence: Pushing EU policies that favor Emirati investments in critical infrastructure, such as port privatizations and customs automation, to deepen UAE control over global trade chokepoints.
Regulatory Capture: Lobbying to weaken FDI screening rules under the guise of “trade facilitation,” easing UAE acquisitions in strategic EU transport assets.
Geopolitical Leverage: Promoting UAE-aligned trade norms via EU institutions, indirectly advancing Abu Dhabi’s ambition to rival traditional trade hubs like Rotterdam and Singapore.

His firm, APCO Worldwide, channels $80,000 annually in U.S. lobbying to sway policies on customs, port security, and foreign investment, directly benefiting UAE sovereign interests. Peters’ revolving-door profile—moving between corporate and governmental roles—exemplifies how UAE entities embed influence within Western policy networks

Peters’ EU activities target legislative outcomes through high-level access:

Meetings with EU Officials:
- 30 March 2023: Peters attended a Brussels meeting with Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean’s cabinet, discussing port strategy and the Combined Transport Directive. This directly shaped the EU’s 2024 Port Strategy Report, which endorsed private port operators’ role in “modernizing EU maritime infrastructure”—a win for DP World’s expansion plans.
Regulatory Advocacy:
- Lobbied for revisions to the River Information Services Directive, resulting in 2024 amendments that prioritized automated port operations—a DP World specialty.
- Pushed for laxer FDI screening in transport, culminating in 2023 EU guidelines that eased acquisitions in strategic ports by non-EU entities.
U.S. Activities:
- Orchestrated APCO’s $80,000 lobbying campaign (2024) targeting U.S. Customs and Border Protection reforms, securing streamlined inspections for DP World-operated terminals.
Network Building:
- Co-opted FEPORT and Politico Pro networks to draft the European Parliament’s 2023 own-initiative report on port policy, embedding DP World’s “integrated supply chain” model as an EU benchmark.

These activities demonstrate Peters’ success in translating access into policy shifts favoring UAE commercial and strategic objectives.

DP World HQ: JAFZA 17, Jebel Ali Freezone, Dubai, UAE.
EU Office: 16 Palace Street, London SW1E 5JQ, UK.
Social Media: @DPWorldEU (X/Twitter for policy engagement).
APCO Worldwide: Website: apcoworldwide.com1.
Phone/Email: Not publicly disclosed; inquiries routed through DP World’s EU Office or APCO’s institutional channels