The 45^th Maritime Transport Working Group Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (MTWG 45) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

Director of the Viet Nam Maritime Administration Le Do Muoi speaking at the event

This year’s event saw the participation of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), ASEAN member states, the ASEAN Secretariat, and dialogue partners from the US, Japan, South Korea and China.

The Viet Nam Maritime Administration chairs the event as the host country in the 2022-2023 term under the rotating mechanism among ASEAN countries.

Speaking at the meeting, Director of the Viet Nam Maritime Administration Le Do Muoi hoped that the results of the 3 sessions of the 42^nd, 43^rd and 44^th ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group Meetings in the cities of Ha Noi, Da Nang and Nha Trang will bring many values for countries to work towards the common goal of the bloc.

According to the leader of the Viet Nam Maritime Administration, the country has great potential for marine shipping thanks to its more than 3,260km of coastline. Maritime is also one of the fields that play an essential role in the country’s socio-economic development.

Currently, Viet Nam's maritime infrastructure is relatively complete with 34 seaports and 296 wharfs, meeting the throughput of about 750 million tons of goods per year. Of which, the volume of goods handled through Viet Nam's seaports in 2022 hit 724 million tons, including 24.7 million TEUs on container ships.

Thanks to its open-door policy, Viet Nam has strongly attracted investment in economic fields, in which the maritime economy is increasingly growing. At the same time, the signing of shipping agreements with countries around the world has promoted trade, and constantly increased the volume of goods through domestic seaports.

However, besides opportunities, there are still many challenges as this sector is affected by climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

Additionally, the country is in need of financial resources to facilitate the green energy transition process, plus attractive policies and legal frameworks to attract investment in green maritime technologies.

Delegates at the 45th Maritime Transport Working Group Meeting

The 45^th Maritime Transport Working Group Meeting lasts until October 19. It revolves around the theme of recovery and sustainable development.

The meeting continues to consider the implementation of measures related to maritime transportation in accordance with the Kuala Lumpur 2016-2025 strategic plan, initiatives in maritime transportation recovery and sustainable development post COVID-19 pandemic as well as progress of the 2022-2023 action plan on goods circulation and ship waste management.

Besides, participating delegates together discuss future cooperation with the International Maritime Organisation and hold talks with dialogue partners.

Measures related to smart technology application in the field of maritime transportation for upcoming action plans are introduced at the three-day event.

Reporting by GIA MINH - Translating by M.DUNG