On December 13, the ASEAN Ports Association (APA) held its 46th conference in Kuching, Sarawak state, Malaysia. At this conference, Vietnamese representatives were appointed as the Chairman and General Secretary of the APA in 2023–2024.
The conference was hosted with support from the Bintulu Berhad Corporation and the Port of Kuching. The delegation of the Vietnam Seaports Association (VPA) attended, including the VPA Executive Board, Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP), Saigon Port, Hai Phong Port, Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT), Da Nang Port.
APA members include Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
At the APA 46 conference, the delegates focused on discussing the sustainable development of the seaport system in Southeast Asia, solutions to adapt to climate change, high-quality human resource development, seaport projects in the region, overcoming difficulties caused by global instability, and exchanging information among port association members.
Delegates also discussed the digitization and going green of seaports in the region, as well as solutions to improve the association's activities in the next five years.
Especially, Vietnamese representatives were appointed as the Chairman and General Secretary of APA in 2023-2024. Mr. Bui Van Quy, VPA Vice Chairman and Deputy General Director of Saigon Newport Corporation, holds the position of Chairman; Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky, Member of VPA Executive Board and General Director of Cai Mep International Port (CMIT), holds the position of General Secretary of the APA.
Attending this conference, the Vietnamese delegation had more opportunities to study, exchange information and share experiences with other ports in the region, thereby ensuring the vision and goals of the APA, which include improving the quality of human resources, the efficiency and productivity of member ports and sustainable development.
Speaking as APA Chairman for the term 2023-2024, Mr. Bui Van Quy emphasized that he would cooperate with APA members to develop and accomplish initiatives to build Asean Seaports and build a digital ecosystem of ASEAN seaports, further integrating with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) and the APEC Port Services Network (APSN) to strongly apply the system of connection, digitization and greening of ports, reducing carbon dioxide as committed by governments under COP 26, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of ports for a growing Asean Seaport community.
The economic situation in ports next year will be challenging. APA in general and VPA in particular will focus on sustainable development goals, such as developing a digital ecosystem, building smart ports and implementing green logistics solutions, such as green transportation, green warehouses, green ports, demonstrating responsibility for environmental protection to the community, sustainable business development in accordance with the direction and development trend of member seaports in the region.
In the context of many instabilities in the world, the ports' business situation in the coming year will be challenging, and the ASEAN Ports Association in general and the Vietnam Seaport Association in particular will continue to focus on sustainable development goals such as developing a digital ecosystem, building smart ports and implementing green logistics solutions.
Source: Đại diện Hiệp hội Cảng biển Việt Nam giữ chức Chủ tịch và Tổng thư ký APA (thanhnien.vn)