SPA hosts regional technical workshop on the mutual training plan for port members of APIOI |11 November 2017

The Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) hosted a regional technical workshop on the mutual training plan for the port members of the Association of Ports of the Indian Ocean Islands (APIOI) on Monday this week at the SPA’s conference room, New Port.

The workshop which was organised by the Union of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Indian Ocean (UCCIOI) in collaboration with APIOI, saw delegates from Mauritius, Reunion, Mayotte, Comores and Seychelles.

This event came to fruition through the existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) between UCCIOI and APIOI.

The aim of the workshop was to discuss at length the maritime-related works of the member ports and the need to increase commercial capacities in the Indian Ocean region.

Delegates deliberated on the training needs that would further the professional development of their human resources, standardisation of key port services and practices, sharing of common information vital for port operations, among other aspects of capacity building.

The main emphasis was put on establishing the following items of the agenda:

• Validation of a mutual training plan for the member countries of APIOI ;

• The selection of priority training modules that would be handled by UCCIOI ;

• The means of mobilisation and action plans for other identified modules deemed pertinent

   for the training plan.

The chief executive of the SPA, Colonel Andre Ciseau, who is also the current chairman of APIOI, opened the seminar by stressing on the importance of empowering the ports of the Indian Ocean region through mutual cooperation and common practices, that would foster greater economic growth for the member countries.