With the attendance of the highest port authorities from Argentina, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay, Barbados Port Inc. will host the 18^th Meeting of the Committee’s Executive Board.

The Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) of the Organization of American States (OAS) is the highest political hemispheric forum for port matters. Barbados as the Board’s Vice-Chair has hosted this meeting in 2015 and this year the Executive Board will consider and approve activity reports from the other national port authorities in the six CIP priority areas.  These areas cover the following:

• competitiveness and logistics;
• sustainable port management and environmental protection;
• port security and protection;
• legislation and regulation;
• Services to Ships and Dredging; and
• Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Equity.

The CIP will organize three more meetings this year; the 10^th Forum on Port and Maritime Security in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on September 3 to 7; the 5^th Hemispheric Conference on Port Logistics and Competitiveness in Panama on October 4 to 6; and, the IV Hemispheric Conference on Sustainable Port Management “Green Ports ad a Key to Competitiveness” in Mazatlan, Mexico on Octobber18 to 20, 2017.

The OAS Country Representative, Francis McBarnette, stated that he is particularly pleased with the work of the CIP that is in full support of the OAS Inter-American Development Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) thus affording strong measure of support to the CIP’s Action Plan and future activities.