Cabinet has today agreed for Fiji to host the 15th Session of the Asia Pacific Heads of Maritime Safety Agency (APHoMSA) in May this year.
The approval to host the meeting was based on a submission by the Minister for Works, Transport and Public Utilities, Captain (N) Timoci Lesi Natuva.
The meeting is a technical forum used by Heads of Maritime Safety Agencies in the Asia Pacific region to discuss and dialogue on maritime matters that are crucial and critical to maritime safety in the Asia Pacific region.
The outcomes of these meetings are then used as a basis for discussions with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to build and strengthen capacity in Government maritime agencies in the Asia Pacific countries in the areas of maritime safety, security and protection of the marine environment.
One of the key objectives of this forum is for member countries to identify areas of promoting regional cooperation and partnership in the fields of maritime safety that can be used as leverage to assess technical cooperation support and assistance from the IMO.
The Minister said that the 2014 Meeting shall focus on Regional Cooperation, Protecting the Marine Environment, Safety at Sea including Seafarer’s Welfare, and Maritime Incident Response.
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