A three-day Stakeholders Forum is being held this week (27-29 April) in Mombasa, Kenya to review draft guidelines for the establishment of a Somalia Maritime Administration. The coordinated and funded by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), is being hosted by the Kenya Maritime Authority.
The aim of the workshop is to develop a framework for establishing a Somalia Maritime Administration to provide governance and oversight to allow for the development of a sustainable Somali maritime sector. This will allow Somalia to demonstrate its commitments and obligations under international law, and to ensure the country is in compliance with international laws and regulations.
The IMO said the recent decline of piracy off the Somali coast provided a good opportunity to implement sustainable shore-based interventions to support reform of the Somali maritime sector and build a safe and secure maritime environment.
This would open up the maritime economy in the country and contribute to preventing any resurgence of piracy. The meeting is being attended b y two Somali Federal Government ministers as well as senior officials from Somalia, the Puntland administration and Galmudug as well as observers from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the European regional capacity building mission EU-CAP NESTOR and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia.
Source: AllAfrica
