Topped the board membership elections

The UAE is a member of the International Navy for the third time in a row

A group photo after the election results were announced in London.

wam

The United Arab Emirates topped the elections for membership of the International Maritime Organization, Category B, for the third time in a row, following a comprehensive and intense campaign that preceded the elections hosted in the British capital, London, due to its active role in strengthening the national maritime sector and advancing the maritime and logistics industry worldwide. .

The results of the elections were announced yesterday, during the 32nd session of the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization in London, which runs until 15 December. With its re-election to the IMO Council, the UAE received international acclaim for its pivotal role in developing strategies, policies and agreements that enhance maritime safety standards, contribute to preserving its environment, and enhance the efficiency of the maritime sector globally.

The Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail Al Mazrouei, expressed his happiness with this achievement, and added: “The UAE continues to reaffirm its leading position as a global maritime center, by winning the elections to the International Maritime Organization Council, for the third time in a row, which reinforces the active role What the UAE is doing in developing the maritime sector, consolidating maritime safety standards, as well as protecting the marine environment worldwide. On this occasion, I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and all our partners in the maritime sector, whose efforts contributed to this exceptional achievement, and the classification of our country among the most influential countries in the development of the maritime industry.”

He added: "All countries of the world are aware of the efforts made by the UAE in the maritime sector, and even after our election to the IMO Council in 2017, we have made major achievements in the maritime sector at the local level, with a focus on meeting regional and global maritime needs, in terms of infrastructure availability. Infrastructure, and providing the best advanced services, and these efforts culminated in the re-election of the UAE to the Council of the International Maritime Organization, for the third time in a row.

He continued: "The efficiency of the sector has helped consolidate the country's position as a leading global maritime center, and the contribution of the maritime sector to the UAE's GDP has reached more than 90 billion dirhams, and more than 15 million containers were handled through the country's ports during the past year, and it reached more than 25 A thousand commercial ships arrived at the ports of the Emirates in the same year, and the tonnage of the state’s ships exceeded 21 million tons, while the size of the UAE fleet reached 970 ships in 2020.”

The UAE leads many global competitiveness indicators in the maritime sector, and ranked third globally in facilitating seaborne trade and supplying ships with fuel, fifth globally among the most important international maritime centers, and 13th globally in the port services index and performance efficiency. The country's ports are among the top 10 global ports in terms of container handling, and more than 27,000 marine companies operate in the UAE, and the country's ports are among the best in the world.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure for the Infrastructure and Transport Sector, Eng. Hassan Mohamed Juma Al Mansouri, said: “The UAE has promoted the growth of trade and the shipping sector globally, and has contributed significantly to this industry by taking pioneering steps to support and protect the maritime shipping sector. The country’s ports have The best infrastructure and the latest technologies in the world.”

Maritime sector support

The UAE contributes to supporting the maritime sector in several aspects, as it was one of the first member states of the International Maritime Organization, which took the initiative to classify seafarers as “priority workers”, who are on the front line of the “Covid-19” pandemic, and provided all facilities It is necessary to change and change marine crews safely, and to obtain medical care, in addition to providing free approved vaccines against the “Covid-19” virus to all major workers, including seafarers and port employees who work in the country’s waters.

As part of its continuous efforts to support the maritime sector, the state has established a single national window for the UAE, as well as the National Committee that links the maritime, air, land and railway transport sectors, and this contributed to the promotion of trade through a unified digital portal, which qualified the state to operate ports in 50 countries around the world. the scientist.

Promising future

The Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Maritime Organization, Mohammed Khamis Al Kaabi, said: "The UAE continues its role in contributing to the development of the maritime sector, and in cooperation with member states, the state has participated in developing the best ways to develop the regulatory scope for autonomous marine vessels, within the framework of the Maritime Safety Committee and the Committee It also contributed recently to a number of major reforms, such as amending the International Maritime Organization Convention by submitting a proposal to increase the members of the organization's council to consist of 52 members, in addition to a proposal to increase the term of the council's work for four years. The UAE participated in the work of the Legal Committee, by submitting a decision to develop new measures to prevent illegal practices associated with fraudulent registration and forged records of ships, and also contributed to the work of the Technical Cooperation Committee, by preparing a draft decision related to funding and partnership arrangements for an effective and sustainable integrated technical cooperation program ».

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news