General Assembly Meeting
The 1st formal Heads of Maritime Administrations and Ship Registers Conference took place in Mombasa, Kenya from October 3 to 5 , 2012. The Conference was attended by 16 African countries with representatives from the African Maritime Policy Advisory Centre (AMPAC), Inter-Governmental Standing Committee on Shipping (ISCOS), Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), African Ship-Owners Association (ASOS), Kenya Shippers Council (KSC), Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA), Container Freight Station (CFS) and Northern Corridor Transit Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA).
The 2nd Conference of Heads of African Maritime Administrations took place in Sandton, South Africa from October 22 to 23 , 2013. Much like the first Conference, it was attended by various African countries alongside Ship-owners Associations and International bodies. On 15 October 2016, in Lomé, Togo, an extraordinary session of the Assembly of African Heads of State and Government, adopted a Charter on Maritime Security, Safety and Development in Africa. The adoption of the Lomé Charter provides a means for signatories to commit to taking specific, measurable actions to promote the Africa-wide development of a sustainable blue economy, underpinned by good maritime security and efficient maritime law enforcement. Both the Revised African Maritime Transport Charter (Revised AMTC) of 2010 and the 2050 African Union’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIM Strategy), give broad-brush outlines of where African States should be heading.
The 3rd Conference of Association of Heads of African Maritime Administration took place from the 19 to 21 April, 2017 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Nigeria Report: The event was hosted by the Nigerian Maritime Safety Authority (NIMSA) and supported by the International Maritime organization (IMO), the theme for the conference was: “Maritime Trade Facilitation and Economic Development in Africa”. SAMSA as the interim Chairperson of the Association at the time and the Head Secretariat attended in order to carry out Chairmanship duties as well as that of the Secretariat duties which included supportive administrative duties to the host country Nigeria. The SAMSA COO was also a key speaker in the discussant panel.
Key issues discussed at the conference and resolutions reached included:
1. Adoption of resolutions on the institutionalization of July 25th of every year as Africa’s Day of the Seas and Oceans
2. Finalization and adoption of AAMA Constitution
3. Resolution on Member State to ratify, domesticate and implement relevant international maritime treaties
4. Commitment on best practices on Port State and Flag State responsibilities
5. Resolution on collaborative efforts in the training of Cadets
6. Determine the role of Regulatory Agencies and Facilitation of Maritime Trade
7. Election of substantive chair of AAMA
8. Frequency on the holding of conferences
9. Confirmation of the Secretariat body of AAMA
9. Agreement on the Hostship for the next conference
10. Agreement to hold the 1st Executive Committee Meeting of AAMA.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
Main objectives of AAMA: To draw up a master plan on measures necessary to progress the maritime agenda as envisaged in the African Maritime Transport Charter; To strengthen cooperation at the regional, continental and international levels in harmonizing policies and goals necessary for the growth of the African Maritime Sector and enhancement of continental collaboration; To lay a firm foundation for regular consultations to enable African Maritime Administrations to build joint positions on issues of common concern in the maritime sector; and To promote sharing of best practices among the African Maritime Administrations in the overall management and operation of maritime authorities and other maritime entities in the continent.
PARTICIPATING COUNTRY OF AAMA
Angola
Benin
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Comoros
Cote D’Ivoire
Djibouti
DR Congo
Ethiopia
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Juba
Kenya
Libya
Liberia
Mozambique
Mauritania
Morocco
Madagascar
Nigeria
Senegal
Sudan
Sao Tome & Principe
Sierra Leone
Seychelles
Somalia
South Africa
Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Zanzibar
africanmarads.com 