The Chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administration (AAMA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has reiterated the commitment of the African body to build a competitive maritime sector in Africa through continuous engagements and sharing of ideas.
The AAMA chairman, who spoke during the 3rd session of the executive council of the association held at the Farah Hotel Casablanca, Morocco, disclosed that there is the need for concerted efforts by the various maritime administrations in Africa to be put in place to be able to compete favourably with its counterparts in other continents.
Peterside, who is also the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), noted that the choice of the various countries in the EXCO was to ensure geographical spread, thereby making sure every region is well represented.
“I beckon on you all to note that our primary aim of coming here is to continue to uphold the tenets of the African Maritime Transport Charter (AMTC) to improve among others, the capacity, capability and performance of Africa’s Maritime Administrations and the maritime/shipping sector with great emphasis on human resources development, technology and information sharing,” he said.
Speaking further, he enjoined the participants to make valuable contributions to the course of promoting the African maritime administration, as this will help to achieve set goals for the body in African.
“Let me assure you that, we will not relent in our efforts to build competitive and vibrant maritime and shipping sector and to give Africa a voice among comity of maritime nations as Africa is our hope for sustainable growth,” he stated further.
Peterside also expressed delight and optimism that the meeting will yield results and profound way forward to actualizing the African Maritime Transport Charter (AMTC).
The AAMA executive council is made up of representatives of Central Africa (Cameroun, Cape Verde), West Africa (Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana), East Africa (Tanzania and Comoros), Southern Africa (Mozambique and South Africa), North Africa (Egypt and Sudan) and Uganda representing land-locked countries.
The meeting had in attendance executive council members from Cape Verde, Ghana, Tanzania, Comoros, Mozambique, South Africa, Egypt, Sudan, Uganda and Nigeria.