On September 28th, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Eng. Essam Al Ammari, in honour of H.E. Minister of Transport and Logistics, Saleh Al Jasser, hosted a reception and dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London as part of The Kingdom’s celebrations in the run up to World Maritime Day. The event was attended by 160 guests from over 60 countries, including IMO Secretary General Mr. Kitack Lim.
Guests were warmly welcomed by guest of honour H.E. Saleh Al Jasser, who described World Maritime Day as an opportunity to, “pause and reflect on the oceans, the way we use them and interact with them; to ask ourselves whether this is sustainable and, if not, how we need to change and develop in order to protect them.”
The Minister added, “We want to protect the oceans – their health and vitality - and we want to sustain maritime trade. It is for these reasons that the Kingdom recently launched the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, both of which set demanding targets for reducing carbon emissions and combating climate change and both of which include important measures to protect marine wildlife and the greening of our oceans. But at the same time, we are investing in upgrading our ports facilities, building our fleets and developing the skills of our seafarers in ways that will ensure a more efficient and sustainable future.”
The dinner was also the backdrop for the premiere of The Kingdom’s official campaign video for election to IMO Category C Council. The video outlined the Kingdom’s commitments to the environment and climate, to the wellbeing and welfare of seafarers, and to increased cooperation between nations for shared goals. The video also announced that the Kingdom had just signed three agreements to provide funding for the IMO CARES, GloLitter and GloFouling projects.
Minister Al Jasser described the Kingdom’s desire to be elected to the IMO Council as part of their drive to improve sustainability and tackle climate change in cooperation with the global community. He said, “we know that we cannot go it alone. We know that the challenges of the future can only be met if we work together. Indeed, we are confident that if we put our minds to it then together everything is possible… That is why we are putting ourselves forwards as candidates for membership of the IMO Council – with Climate, Cooperation and Seafarers at the core of our commitment.”
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