Nigeria on April 19-21, 2017 will host the 3rd Conference of the Association of Heads of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA Conference) in Abuja, at the TransCorp Hilton Hotel. The meeting, which will be hosted by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in conjunction with International Maritime Organization (IMO), will bring together major maritime administrators and leading stakeholders in Africa. Essentially, participants will discuss various issues and ways of improving the maritime sector in the continent, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside , has said. No fewer than 32 African countries are expected to participate at the continental conference and a number of maritime stakeholder organizations around the world.
A statement issued by NIMASA’s head, Corporate Communications, Isichei Osamgbi, explained that the IMO delegation of five will be led by Mr. Kitack Lim, the Secretary General of IMO, a United Nations specialized agency that regulates shipping globally. The Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) was formed following the signing of the African Transport and Maritime Charter in 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with of promoting the development of Africa’s maritime regulatory and maritime environment. Also, AAMA is an umbrella body of five African Maritime Stakeholders’ groups namely: Association of Maritime Administrations of Africa, Africa’s Ship Registry Forum, African Ship Owners Association as well as Africa Shippers’ Council and Seafarers’ Forum. Further, NIMASA’s Director General stated that: “the benefits of hosting the conference cannot be over emphasized, it will equally avail stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime industry an opportunity to rub minds with their counterparts across Africa and the globe.”
This would be the 3rd AAMA conference as the inaugural and the second conferences were held in Mombasa, Kenya in 2012 and SouthAfrica in 2013 respectively. It should be noted that the 3rd edition, which Nigeria will be hosting, was earlier scheduled to be held in 2014 but was called off.
