Vietnam to host meeting of ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group
The Vietnam Marine Administration (VINAMARINE) has informed that it will chair the upcoming ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group (MTWG) Meeting, which is scheduled to take place virtually in Hanoi on March 9 and 10.
A VINAMARINE leader noted the event will be participated by ten ASEAN member states, the ASEAN Secretariat, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), dialogue partners and regional associations.
The MTWG will discuss the implementation of the Kuala Lumpur Transport Strategic Plan 2016-2025 and the 2022-2023 action plan, new initiatives in the maritime transport sector, and related cooperation with the IMO and dialogue partners.
Earlier, the VINAMARINE chaired four conferences of the MTWG during 2008 – 2009.
A representative of the administration said that since Vietnam officially joined ASEAN in 1995, maritime is one of the fields of its extensive cooperation between within the bloc. To create favourable conditions for maritime transport activities, up to now, the country has signed bilateral maritime and shipping agreements with seven ASEAN member states, namely Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Myanmar.
Vietnam also signed an agreement to recognise seafarers' professional qualifications under the 1978 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers with six countries in the region – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Myanmar and Thailand.
Last year, the volume of goods through Vietnam's seaport system exceeded 706 million tonnes, up 2% compared to 2020.
The MTWG meeting is hosted by ten ASEAN countries alternately every two years. Vietnam takes its turn in the period of 2022 - 2023 with two meetings per year.