His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Ambassador to the United Kingdom, patronized the introductory meeting on the Kingdom's candidacy for the International Maritime Organization Council membership - Class C. The meeting also presented the maritime transport achievements in the Kingdom with the presence of HE the Minister of Transport Dr. Nabil Al-Amoudi the Chairman of the Board of Directors in the Public Transport Authority and Dr. Rami bin Mohammed Al-Rumaih the president of the Public Transport Authority with the participation of representatives of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), at 7 pm Thursday in London.
In a speech delivered by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Ambassador to the United Kingdom, he welcomed the guests and stressed on the keenness of the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in obtaining a leading position in the maritime industry. Also declare the Kingdom's commitment to all the naval conventions and agreements it has signed, and its support for the organization through its contribution to various funds related to combating piracy, marine laws, and education. The Kingdom's membership will benefit the shipping industry and its prosperity regionally and internationally, will create a good environment for developing this vital sector, and an opportunity for localization, to achieve the Saudi Vision 2030.
This was followed by a speech by the Minister of Transport, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Public Transport Authority, Dr. Nabil Al-Amoudi, in which he presented the qualitative change in maritime transport pointing out that the Kingdom has been an active member of the IMO since 1969. During the meeting, Dr. Al-Amoudi reviewed the enormous potential of the Saudi shipping industry, which effectively prepares the Kingdom to reserve a regional and international leadership.
In his speech to the diplomatic community, Al-Amoudi elaborated on the Kingdom's achievements through its strategic geographical location linking the three continents, where the Public Transport Authority has raised the Saudi flag to more than 273 vessels, and the national tonnage of these vessels exceeded 3.4 million tons, thus making the Kingdom the most significant maritime fleet in the region.
Al-Amoudi said that the Kingdom has invested generously in the shipping industry and hosts Al-Bahary, one of the world's largest companies with more than 40 giant oil tankers. The Kingdom also owns 10% of the German company Heppaq Lloyd.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has established 11 new ports for commercial and industrial purposes. The capacity of these ports exceeds 532 million tons, in addition to the Kingdom's fishing and multi-purpose ports. The east coast of Saudi Arabia has a giant marine project, King Salman International Marine Industries, and Services Complex in Ras Al-Khair.
Dr. Al-Amoudi affirmed the Kingdom's pride with its membership in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its membership in the International Contact Group for Combating Piracy and its work teams. He also called for voting in favor of the Kingdom's candidacy for the IMO Council and thanked His Highness the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in London for his support. HE Dr. Al-Amoudi praised the efforts of his colleagues in the Public Transport Authority, and the success of everyone in the maritime transport in the Kingdom for the progress in the achievements and fulfill the concepts of the industry to support the national economy, and strengthening the Kingdom's regional and international presence in line with the Saudi Vision 2030.