The 44^th ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group (MTWG 44) meeting, organised by the Vietnam Maritime Administration (VINAMARINE) under the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport in coordination with the ASEAN Secretariat, is taking place in Da Nang from May 9 to 11.

The opening ceremony of the 44th ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group (MTWG 44) meeting in Da Nang, May 9, 2023. Photo: THANH LAN

In attendance were Mr. Ki Tack Lim, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and representatives from ASEAN member states, ASEAN Secretariat, dialogue partners from the US, Japan, South Korea, China and other ASEAN partner organisations. On the Vietnamese side, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang was present here.

Addressing the opening of the conference, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang said that the MTWG is one of the working groups under the transport sector that will implement programmes, projects and activities in the maritime sector.

The MTWG is held twice a year according to the rotating mechanism among ASEAN countries. Viet Nam hosts the ASEAN MTWG Conference for the term 2022 - 2023, while fulfilling the obligations of ASEAN member states, and at the same time is an opportunity for the host country Viet Nam to enhance its role and position in transport cooperation with international friends.

According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang, since joining ASEAN (July 1995), Viet Nam has been recognised by the ASEAN community for its positive contributions to the common development of the ASEAN community through political cohesion, international economic integration and social responsibility sharing.

Maritime transport is one of the fields of extensive cooperation of Viet Nam in the ASEAN community, whereby in the past years to create favourable conditions for shipping activities between member countries, Viet Nam has signed bilateral maritime/shipping agreements with ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Myanmar.

Viet Nam also inked an agreement to recognise seafarers’ professional qualifications under the 1978 STCW Convention with countries in the region, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Myanmar and Thailand. Viet Nam's extensive cooperation in ASEAN in recent years has not only made shipping operations easier, but also opened the door to the Vietnamese seafarer market.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang emphasised, as an IMO member state, Viet Nam always fulfills all its obligations as a member country and actively responds to activities and movements launched by IMO.

In 2023, Viet Nam looks forward to “MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on” for 2023 World Maritime Theme launched by IMO. This theme reflects IMO's long history of protecting the environment from the impacts of shipping through a strong regulatory framework and underscores IMO's ongoing commitment to this important work.

It is known that this 44^th MTWG meeting continues to focus on a number of important programmes such as implementing measures related to maritime traffic according to the Kuala Lumpur Strategic Plan 2021 - 2026, realising the ASEAN Single Shipping Market (ASSM) through the implementation of agreed strategies and measures (MT-1), realising the operation of the RO-RO transport network in ASEAN (MT-2); developing an efficient and integrated inland waterway transport (IWWT) network (MT-3); strengthening the positioning system and security measures according to international standards (MT-4); developing necessary initiatives and policy recommendations to develop strategic shipping logistics between ASEAN and its dialogue partners; speeding up regional cooperation in improving traffic safety; strengthening regional cooperation in the development of policies and strategies related to sustainable transport (ST-1)…

Reporting by THANH LAN - Translating by A.THU