Dakuku
The
chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administrations AAMA,
Dr Dakuku Peterside has restated the place of continental
collaboration to grow the African maritime industry. This was the
thrust of his message as he arrived Sharm El Sheik, Egypt for the
4thconference
of Association of African Maritime Administration, (AAMA) where
participants from 38 countries from Africa will be joined by maritime
stakeholders from Singapore, Jamaica, Malaysia and the United Kingdom
amongst others to deliberate on how to grow the maritime industry on
the continent.
Dr
Dakuku noted that the role of African Maritime Administration in
building human and infrastructural capacities, Combating the
Menace of Piracy and Maritime Crimes in Africa, Regional Initiatives
for sustainable exploitation of maritime resources, will be part of
the issues that will be deliberated during the five day event which
has the theme “Protecting
The African Marine Environment To Support Sustainable Development”.
According
to the AAMA Chairman “ Africa is the market yet to be unveiled, the
maritime sector of Africa deserves its rightful place because if you
look at the cargo generated from the continent and the cargo that
heads to Africa you will know that the African maritime sector has
come off age and there is the need for us to come as a bloc to
negotiate issues of development of our sector when it comes to
international maritime politics”
Following the
commencement of the AAMA conference, The International Maritime
Organization, IMO and the African Union have affirmed
their readiness to support AAMA in their quest to combat security
challenges, and build human capacity to implement, monitor and
enforce international instruments.
The
chief executive of Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Andrew
Tan who is already in Egypt, commended the Dr Dakuku led
executive members of AAMA for engaging other maritime administrations
across the globe in their quest to develop maritime Africa.
“ We
are delighted to share knowledge with African maritime leaders- he
said, we are ready to partner AAMA in its quest to grow the African
maritime sector which will know will rub off on the industry in
totality” he said.
AAMA members at the
3rd AAMA conference with the theme - Sustainable
Use of Africa’s Oceans and Seas, agreed to develop and adopt
Near-Coastal Trading, Certification and Competency Code for mutual
recognition of certificates that will reduce/eliminate contentions by
Port State Control Inspectors. Members were also encouraged to
re-enforce regional cooperation and coordination, enhance information
sharing and regulatory governance among members to combat the menace
of piracy and other maritime crimes while maintaining a balance
between security and the facilitation of global trade.
Dr
Dakuku Peterside, NIMASA DG was elected chairman of
AAMA in 2017 with Eleven (11) members’ executive
committee comprising of representatives of Central Africa (Cameroun &
Cape Verde), West Africa (Cote D’Ivoire & Ghana), East
Africa (Tanzania & Comoros), Southern Africa (Mozambique and
South Africa), North Africa (Egypt & Sudan) and Uganda
representing Land-locked countries.
It
is noteworthy that the African Union (A.U.) special summit of heads
of government on maritime security, safety and development in Lome,
Togo, 15th October, 2016 aligned with the IMO to reinforce the role
of maritime in the development of the African continent. They adopted
a Charter on Maritime Security, Safety and Development aimed at
making Africa’s maritime space the key driver of the continent’s
socio-economic development. This document was endorsed by 43 out of
54 African nations.
The
Association of African Maritime Administrators (AAMA), inspired by
African Union maritime transport charter provides stakeholders in
maritime sector, a platform to give effect to the various charters
adopted by African heads of government whether AIM 2050, Agenda
2063 or the Lome charter.
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