Muscat: The 20th meeting of the Committee on “Riyadh Memorandum of Understanding” for inspection and control of ships began in Muscat on Monday.
Members of the Committee from the GCC maritime administrations, representatives of the international regional memorandums for control and inspection, and a representative of the GCC Secretariat General took part in the meeting.
The three-day meeting, which is being organised by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, reviews the inspection activities of the member states and explores ways to develop the information centre of the memorandum.
The meeting also witnesses the presentation of a number of working papers on the importance of the international agreements issued by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) regarding the workforce in the maritime field.
The meeting also reviews the list of other agreements that will enter into force during 2023 and subsequent years in relation to maritime safety and the strategic plan of the memorandum (2023-2028).
The meeting was chaired by Captain Yousef Mohammed Al Hosan, Vice President for Policies and Legislations (MAWANI), Saudi Ports Authority and Chairman of the Riyadh Memorandum of Understanding Committee, who explained that the meeting will discuss the strategic plan of the memorandum over the next five years, updating the current financial and administrative system into a new and advanced system, and developing human cadres specialised in field of maritime inspection.
The meeting was attended by Eng. Khamis Mohammed Al Shamakhi, Undersecretary for Transport and officials from the departments concerned in the Sultanate of Oman.