Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang wishes to continue accompanying other countries to strengthen cooperation, creating a premise for the development of the maritime industry. 

On May 9, the 44th ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group (MTWG) Meeting was hold in Da Nang. The event had the participation of representatives from ASEAN member states, the ASEAN Secretariat, dialogue partners from the US, Japan, Korea, and China, and ASEAN’s partner organizations, the Organization International Maritime Organization (IMO). 

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang said that since joining ASEAN (July 1995), Vietnam has been recognized by the ASEAN community for its positive contributions to the common development of the ASEAN community. political cohesion, economic linkage, and shared social responsibility.

In particular, maritime transportation is one of the fields of extensive cooperation of Vietnam in the ASEAN community. 

According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang, over the past years, to create favorable conditions for shipping activities between member countries, Vietnam has signed a bilateral maritime/shipping agreement with other countries. members of ASEAN such as Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Myanmar. Vietnam also signed an Agreement to recognize seafarers’ professional qualifications under the STCW Convention 1978 with countries in the region including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Myanmar, and Thailand.

In the past few years, Vietnam’s extensive cooperation in ASEAN has not only made shipping activities easier, but also opened a bright door to the Vietnamese seafarer market” the Ministry of Transport said, pointing out the successful and effective cooperation between ASEAN countries. At the same time, we hope to continue working together with other countries to open up, aiming to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation and lay the foundation for the development of the world’s marine industry, especially ASEAN.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang also highly appreciated the support and companionship of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in promoting cooperation between the Governments of member countries on technical issues, training and shipping, towards the unification of the highest standards of maritime safety and environmental protection.

Typically, the Project on Marine Environmental Protection of Southeast Asian Countries (MEPSEAS) aims to strengthen the management capacity of countries in the region, to support the implementation of the IMO Conventions on marine environment protection.

As an IMO member state, Vietnam always fulfills all its obligations as a member country and actively responds to activities and movements launched by IMO. Typically, in 2023, Vietnam looks forward to a new theme launched by IMO which is “‘MARPOL turns 50 years old – A commitment to protect the marine environment without stopping'”.

The Maritime Transport Working Group (MTWG) meeting is one of the working groups in the field of transportation, which will coordinate and implement plans, projects, and activities in the maritime field. The conference is held twice a year under the rotation mechanism between ASEAN countries.

Vietnam hosted the 2022-2023 ASEAN MTWG Conference, which is not only fulfilling the obligations of ASEAN member states, but also an opportunity for the host country Vietnam to recognize and enhance its role and status in transportation cooperation with international friends.

Source: Giaothong news