Durban has officially been announced as the host for the International Maritime Organization’s World Maritime Day 2020 conference.
Fikile Mbalula, the Minister of Transport, was given the hosting flag by Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez at this year’s World Maritime Day in the Republic of Colombia.
Mbalula said, “South Africa is pleased to announce that the 2020 World Maritime Day Parallel Event will be hosted in the beautiful city of Durban in the province of Kwa Zulu- Natal. We will be grateful if you could spare your time and attend the event which will be hosted in the African soil. We assure you that you will have a great time to enjoy our landscape, the mountains and the rivers, clear skies and hospitality of our people”.
World Maritime Day is celebrated annually, attended by a large number of officials from the International Maritime Organization Member States, the United Nations Specialised Agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The event seeks to promote global partnership and local cooperation on maritime issues.
The CEO of the Southern African Shipyards (SAS), Prasheen Maharaj, said, “We welcome the news of the handover of the official flag from IMO as host of World Maritime Day 2020. We are especially proud that the host city is Durban where we are based. This will certainly position Durban and South Africa on the global map as a Maritime destination”.
Read more about World Maritime Day here: http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/17–world-maritime-theme-for-2020.aspx
