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News from Suriname as of
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Maritime industry catalyst for region's development and growth, says Suriname's president
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| Published on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 | Email To Friend Print Version
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By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com
PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- According to Suriname’s president Ronald Venetiaan, the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) has a pivotal role to play in addressing the many challenges facing the region in connection with the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.
He noted that, while the EPA will have effect on trade in the region in general, it will also have an impact on the maritime industry.
“There are many opportunities for our region; together we will be able to capitalize on them. The fact that the maritime industry is of vital importance for the Caribbean puts the heavy responsibility on the Caribbean Shipping Association. The association is a very unique organization in a sense that ship owners, port and terminal operators, shipping agents and stevedoring companies all are members and although it might look that there interests are not common, they all share one objective,” Venetiaan said on Monday at the opening of the 39th General Annual Meeting of the CSA in Paramaribo, Suriname.
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| Suriname President Ronald Venetiaan. AFP PHOTO |
He further noted that the various groups realize that they share a common reality, which obliges them to jointly seek and find solutions for common problems and together aspire to increase capacity, maximize efficiency, and reduce costs in a social acceptable way.
“Without any doubt the maritime industry can be considered as a catalyst for economic development and growth,” he said.
Venetiaan maintained that while the Caribbean currently is going through challenging and difficult times, there are promising perspectives for the future.
“The challenge is to battle today’s problems in an effective way in order to lay the foundation for tomorrow. Opportunities for tomorrow grow from the challenges from today,” he told delegates at the meeting .
Under the theme ‘Tomorrow begins today’ over 300 representatives of port authorities, port operators, shipping companies and agencies and manufacturers of port equipment from the region are attending the 39th general meeting of the CSA, in Paramaribo.
Speaking to journalists, Fernando Rivera, president of the CSA, noted that the organization is providing training for its members, and assists in enhancing safety and security in the regional maritime industry. Therefore the CSA and its members work closely with the US Coast Guard and other agencies. Regarding the cruise industry, Rivera said that the CSA in the near future will help Paramaribo in developing its cruise industry.
“The main asset is, you have beautiful people and I don’t see any reason why the cruise industry cannot develop in this part of the world. So we are going to help the people of Suriname,” said the CSA-president.
According to Rivera, Suriname could be easily included in cruise schedules in the Caribbean.
Meanwhile Guno Castelen, Commercial Manager at the Surinamese Port Authority, claims that the CSA conference will contribute to the further transformation of Suriname’s main port facility, the Nieuwe Haven. He argued that the meeting in Paramaribo is aiming at seeking resolutions for current problems in the industry and planning for the future.
“We are bringing in know-how to constantly upgrade and adjust the management of our port to the new developments in the industry,” he noted.
Secondly, Castelen said, the port authority brought the 39th annual meeting to Suriname to show case the upgrading and modernizing the port to stakeholders in a bid to attract more business opportunities and improve the rating of the Surinamese port.
In his address, Venetiaan noted that between May 2001 and October 2009 the volume of cargo handled at the main port facilities more than tripled. For the past several years Suriname has invested significantly in improvement of port infrastructure, institutional strengthening and training and education.
Most importantly, he said, is that in the public sector- private sector partnership the private sector was fully involved in the modernization of the country’s main port facilities. In rehabilitation and expansion of the Nieuwe Haven some euros 55 million and US$30 million would have been invested when the project is finished in 2010. | | | | Reads : 563 | | | |
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