Admiral Osama Rabie, the Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, and Esben Poulsson, the Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, have witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding for a joint cooperation between the Suez Canal Authority and the International Chamber of Shipping, on the sidelines of the first official visit of the Chamber’s chairman and the accompanying delegation to the Suez Canal.
The memorandum of understanding is the result of fruitful cooperation and effective communication between the Suez Canal Authority and the International Chamber of Shipping over the past two years to follow up on the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the efforts exerted to refloat the container vessel Ever Given and other challenges that had a significant impact on the global trade movement and the maritime transport industry.
The memorandum of understanding aims to open new horizons for cooperation between the two sides, revitalize communication and allow the exchange of information and experiences through several mechanisms, most notably holding an annual meeting for representatives of the two parties to discuss urgent issues and follow-up on developments related to projects to develop the waterway of the canal, marketing and pricing policies pursued by the authority, ways to enhance navigational security, and applying international environmental standards.
Admiral Rabie has expressed his aspiration to strengthen relations of cooperation and partnership with the International Chamber of Shipping, which is a necessary step that expresses the ambitious vision pursued by the Authority to enhance its foreign relations through direct coordination with clients and success partners and benefit from the result of rapprochement and direct communication from discussing matters of common interest and achieving common interests and support for the stability of global supply chains.
The Chairman stressed that the Suez Canal succeeded in overcoming the various challenges it faced over the past two years and turned them into successes and achievements, describing the epic of salvaging and refloating the giant Panamanian container vessel Ever Given as the biggest challenge that the Canal succeeded in managing and dealing with in a record time – only six days, thanks to the hands of the Authority’s employees to prove to the whole world the importance of the channel and the lack of a real alternative to it.
Esben Poulsson, the ICS chairman, expressed pleasure over his first visit to the Suez Canal, which allowed him to be closely acquainted with this vital international waterway. (Photo Suez Canal Authority)