PH reelected to IMO, vows to keep shipping ‘safe, secure, environment friendly’
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2019 09:00:42 +0000
THE Philippines had been reelected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IOM) as it vowed to make shipping safe, secure, and environment friendly.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that the Philippines was re-elected to the IMO Council on November 29 during the 31st session of the IMO’s general assembly.
The DFA said the Philippines retained its seat in the IMO Council at a “highly competitive election which saw 24 countries vie for 20 available seats under Category C, which comprises of States which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world.”
Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Antonio Lagdameo, the country’s Permanent Representative to the IMO, said during the general assembly that the Philippines “actively pursues initiatives and policies that focus on the human element in shipping.”
“The Philippine candidature is predicated on the unstinting commitment of the country to work closely with the IMO and all member-states to achieve the goal of making shipping safe, secure, and environment-friendly,” he said.
Lagdameo added that the Philippines “puts a premium on the skills, competency, and well-being of Filipino seafarers who play a vital role in ensuring safe operations on board the ship and on the sea.”
The Philippines, the DFA said, has the “largest number of maritime crew serving the international merchant fleet and has a growing shipbuilding sector, making it the fifth largest shipbuilding nation in the world.”
The Council to which the Philippines has been re-elected is the executive organ of the IMO and is responsible for supervising the work of the organization.
The Philippines joins Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey in the list of member-states elected under Category C.
The members of the Council under Category A are 10 states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services, while those in Category B are 10 states with the largest interest in international seaborne trade.
The 31st IMO general assembly was held in London at the IMO headquarters from November 24 to December 4. BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO