The Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Vasilis Kikilias, held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from countries with a key role in international shipping in London, where he is attending the 34th Ordinary Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
In his meeting with the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation, Economy, Energy and Business Affairs, Marco M. Sylvester, a few months after their meeting in Washington in September, the two sides discussed the excellent cooperation between Greece and the United States in the maritime sector, both in a bilateral and multilateral context – and in particular within the IMO – which is being strengthened at an intensive pace, as their countries still have much to offer in this key sector for the economy and development.
This was followed by a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Transport of Saudi Arabia, Dr Rumaih Al-Rumaih, during which it was noted that the relationship between Greece and Saudi Arabia has been rapidly upgraded in recent years, as demonstrated by recent high-level visits. Mr. Kikilias expressed his appreciation for the significant achievements of Saudi Arabia in the field of tourism, while the two sides discussed the importance of the traditional mutual support of their candidacies to the IMO, the need to preserve maritime security in the Red Sea, but also the common desire to further strengthen cooperation in the fields of shipping, ports and cruises.
In his next bilateral contact, he met with the Minister of Transport of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Thani, with whom they discussed the development of mutually beneficial synergies in the shipping and ports sector, as well as the cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the IMO.
Subsequently, in his meeting with China’s Vice Minister of Transport, Li Yang, the strong relationship between the two countries in the maritime sector and ways to further strengthen it were discussed, while the two sides agreed on the importance of exchanging views within the IMO framework, due to the high percentage of the world’s merchant fleet that the two countries represent.
Finally, the Minister hosted a working lunch for his Mediterranean counterparts — the Deputy Minister of Shipping of Cyprus, Marina Hadjimanoli, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works of Malta, Chris Bonett, and the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of Italy, Edoardo Rixi — at which the common approach to the challenges and priorities of European and international shipping was confirmed. The Mediterranean countries, which represent a significant proportion of global and European shipownership and have a deep tradition and know-how in the sector, underlined the value of close cooperation to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of shipping, while Mr. Kikilias thanked his counterparts for the fruitful and constructive discussion, emphasizing that they are fellow travelers of Greece in joint future efforts.
