Egypt won the Executive Board membership in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for 2016 and 2017 during the elections on Friday at the organisation's headquarters in London. Transport Minister Saad El-Geioushy, who heads the Egyptian delegation in London, said Egypt's IMO membership will have an influential role in the shipping industry. Egypt received 130 votes out of a total of 154 votes where it occupied seventh place after Singapore, Turkey, Malta, Cyprus, Australia, and Peru. Other countries that won membership include Indonesia, South Africa, Morocco, Denmark, Chile, Bahamas, Belgium, Mexico, Malaysia, Philippines, Liberia, and Thailand. Egypt's ambassador to Britain Nasser Kamel, who is also a Permanent Representative of Egypt in IMO, said after the great victory Egypt achieved last month in the elections of the non-permanent membership of the Security Council, it succeeded Friday in restoring its seat on the Executive Board of IMO. He said Egypt had the largest number of votes since it began contesting for membership in the council since the establishment of the organisation. He said this achievement reflects the appreciation given to Egypt at an international level and at the shipping industry level after its success in completing the Suez Canal expansion project and launching the Suez Canal Axis Development project to serve the international maritime trade. El-Geioushy thanked the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its significant role in Egypt's membership at IMO: "Ambassador Nasser Kamel exerted tremendous effort in this regard and also the Egyptian private sector in the field of maritime transport contributed greatly to Egypt's access to this important international seat". He headed the Egyptian delegation in the Executive Board of IMO elections and also included head of the maritime transport sector General Abdul Kader Darwish. Egypt is the only non-member country on the board, with 40 other countries as members of the organisation. Egypt restored its membership, which was lost to Turkey in the previous session during the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. IMO is legislative authority that accredits marine laws and agreements related to the safety of maritime navigation and marine environment. It is one of the United Nations organisations concerned with the shipping industry and issuing maritime conventions to achieve safety, environmental protection, and maritime security. Source: Reuters
