Kuwaiti official to lead Arab port body

(With photos)

CAIRO, Nov 1 (KUNA) -- Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA) Director-General Sheikh Sabah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah took over here Saturday as chairman of the Arab Sea Ports Federation.

The takeover happened during the inaugural session of the 37th federation board and general assembly meeting.

Addressing the session, Sheikh Sabah said seaports play a pivotal role in supporting Arab economies, constitute the main outlet of foreign trade in most nations and even make up 95 percent of total trade in several countries.

Seaports represent the lifespan of diverse economic and societal sectors, he said.

They also contribute to the employment of Arab cadres directly or indirectly through many relevant works, and constitute a significant source of public treasury and a key financier of development plans in several countries, especially if oil earnings are not involved, he added.

He vowed to do his best to revitalize the vital sector of ports, noting that the KPA has long been seeking to further cooperation between Kuwaiti and Arab seaports.

He expounded on Kuwaiti efforts in this respect, chiefly the sharing of experience in technical and training fields and mutual visits between Kuwaiti and Arab port officials.

Kuwaiti ports have managed to convert from loss-makers to profit-makers over the recent few years; having earned KD 233.5 million from 1996 to 2008; KD 21 million per annum, he said.

The infrastructure of Kuwaiti seaports has been rehabilitated, ambitious blueprints put in place to provide a congenial operation atmosphere, information technology systems introduced to ports, Sheikh Sabah noted.

The vision and strategy to revamp Kuwaiti seaports is based on a set of aspects, mainly continuation of development and expansion projects, attraction of more world companies, promotion of Kuwaiti sports' competitive edge, and more attention to human development and state-of-the-art technology, he added.

As the current holder of the rotating presidency of Arab seaports, Kuwait will try hard to develop cooperation and coordination opportunities among member countries, to buttress integration among members and to help Arab seaports emulate their international counterparts, the new chief of Arab seaports vowed.

Furthermore, Kuwait will seek to set training and rehabilitation programs to boost the efficiency of port workers, and to provide up-to-date technical, economic and trade information and statistics, he said.

Finally, he thanked Egypt for its great role in the promotion of Arab cooperation in diverse fields, including sea transport.

Several reports bearing on earlier resolutions, development of human resources at Arab seaports and a database on sea transport were discussed during the meeting.

Naim bin Ibrahim al-Naim, former chairman of the Arab Sea Ports Federation, was honored at the meeting for his efforts during his seven-year term.