BD to contest IMO Executive Council membership polls

Talha Bin Habib Bangladesh will contest the prestigious election for membership of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Executive Council to be held this month in London aiming to preserve the country's interest in the international shipping industry sector, officials said. To this end, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan left Dhaka Saturday morning for London to join the 27th Assembly and 107th Council Session of IMO to be held in the capital of the United Kingdom (UK). The minister is leading a six-member Bangladesh delegation. "The election will be held this month. It is very important for Bangladesh. As a member of IMO, we (the government) have been campaigning relentlessly so that the country can be elected in the polls," Shipping Secretary Abdul Mannan Hawlader told the FE Saturday. He said 40 countries are the members of the IMO Executive Council that are divided into A, B and C categories. "The IMO has 169 member states. Bangladesh will contest the election of the executive council of IMO under B category," he mentioned. Asked about the advantages of contesting the upcoming election, the secretary said, "If elected, Bangaldesh will be able to preserve and consolidate its interest in the international shipping industry with much influence". The shipping secretary said Bangaldesh has been playing a significnat role in the international shipping sector thanks to the ongoing robust initiatives by the government that have already exposed the country's ability in ship breaking and building and human resources development. "Bangladesh is one of the leading ship breaking countries in the globe. The country has been exporting international standard ships to differernt countries. About 8 to 10 thousand Bangladeshi people are now working in the shipping sector in different countries," he said. Shipping is serving more than 90 per cent of global trade by carrying large quantities of cargoes cost effectively, cleanly and safely. In 1948 an international conference in Geneva adopted a convention formally establishing IMO. The original name was Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation, or IMCO, but the name was changed in 1982 to IMO. Members of the Bangladesh delegation are :Bangladesh High Commissioner to UK Dr M Saidur Rahman Khan, Director General of Department of Shipping Commodore Jobair Ahmed, Private Secretary to the Shipping Minister Md Sohrab Hossain Sheikh, Engineer and Ship Surveyor of Department of Shipping Md Shafiqul Islam and Chief Operating Officer of Haq & Sons Ltd Emdadul Hoque Chowdhury. The minister is expected to return home on 27th November.