Heads of African Maritime Administrations under the aegis of Association of Heads of African Maritime Administrations (AMAA) are expected to converge on Abuja between 19th and 21st of April, 2017 for the association’s conference.
The meeting which will be hosted by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in conjunction with International Maritime Organization (IMO) according to the Director General NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, is also in a bid to continue to improve on Nigeria’s role as a global player in the comity of maritime nations.
The NIMASA DG also stated that the conference will bring together all the major Maritime Administrators and leading stakeholders in Africa to discuss various issues and ways of improving the maritime sector in the continent.
In a statement on the conference, NIMASA’s heads of corporate communication; Mr Osamgbi Ishiche, a total of 32 African countries and some maritime organizations around the world are expected to participate at the continental conference.
According to the statement, the IMO Secretary General, Mr Kitack Lim will lead the global body’s delegation of five.
The Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) was formed following the signing of the African Transport and Maritime Charter in 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the aim of the association is to promote the Development of Africa’s maritime regulatory and maritime environment.
AAMA, which brings together all players in the African maritime sector, is also an umbrella body of five African Maritime Stakeholders’ groups namely: Association of Maritime Administrations of Africa, Africa’s Ship Registry Forum, African Ship Owners Association as well as Africa Shippers’ Council and Seafarers’ Forum.
Speaking on benefits of hosting the conference in Nigeria, Dr. Peterside disclosed that “the hosting of this conference in Nigeria is in line with the economic diversification agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration, and the repositioning agenda of the present Management to make Nigerian maritime industry a leading light in Africa and the global maritime sector”.
He noted that the conference will open a new vista of opportunities to the teeming unemployed youths, as well as unlock the potentials inherent in the maritime sector. This is just as the conference could serve as a platform towards Nigeria’s re-election into the IMO Council seat later in November this year.
The NIMASA Director General stated further that, “the benefits of hosting the conference cannot be over emphasized, it will equally avail stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime industry an opportunity to rub minds with their counterparts across Africa and the globe, and further chart a way forward for the African maritime sector. It will effectively signal the arrival of the country in the global maritime arena as a respectable global voice”.
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