ASPF chief stresses need to develop Arab ports

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Nov 14 (KUNA) -- President of the Arab Sea Ports Federation (ASPF) and Director General of Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA) Sheikh Youssef Abdullah Sabah Al-Sabah stressed on Saturday the need to develop and maintain Arab ports due to their paramount importance.
Sheikh Youssef made the statement at the inauguration of the International Maritime Conference Sea Gate 2015 under the auspices of Egypt's minister of transport.
Sheikh Youssef referred to the importance of the maritime ports as they are the main gate of most imports of the Arab countries.
He highly evaluated the participation of delegations of all Arab countries in the meeting with senior officials and specialists in the maritime sector, transport and ports.
He, meanwhile, lauded the expansion of Egypt's Suez Canal inaugurated last August, saying this move is a source of pride for Egypt and all Arab countries.
He said the ASPF works on promoting cooperation among all Arab countries, hoping for several meetings for further cooperation among Arab peoples.
Participants underlined the importance of work to evolve Arab ports in order to compete with international ones so as to achieve welfare of Arab peoples.
They also called for reactivating cooperation with ASPF to be in favor of the activity of maritime transport in the Arab world.
The two-day conference is expected to hold several sessions on the expansion of the Suez Canal, the development of Arab maritime commercial fleet and other topics.
Former president of ASPF Sheikh Sabah Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah was honored in a ceremony that was attended by Sheikh Youssef on behalf of him today. (end) msh.rgh.hm