President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had a meeting on Tuesday with Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Arsenio Dominguez.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel al-Wazir.
In statements, Presidential Spokesperson Mohammed al-Shennawy said that the two sides, during the meeting, discussed continuing bilateral cooperation with regard to the organization’s areas of work, particularly in light of Egypt’s great potentials in the fields of shipping and maritime transport, and the presence of the Suez Canal and the coastlines extended along the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
The two sides also discussed means of boosting cooperation on issues related to the environment, climate change, and renewable and clean energy.
They also reviewed Egypt’s sustained efforts to turn the country into a global center for green hydrogen production, a matter that will contribute to strengthening the organization’s efforts to switching to alternative marine fuel sources for ships, the spokesman said.
The two sides also probed means to shore up the IMO’s role in transferring its relevant international expertise, and facilitating investments in the green hydrogen sector and the necessary infrastructure in the main seaports and shipping lanes in developing countries, the spokesman added.
For his part, the IMO’s secretary general praised Egypt’s remarkable achievements in developing seaport services in recent years, a matter that has substantially contributed to facilitating international maritime traffic and strengthening global supply chains.
Dominguez thanked President Sisi for the Egyptian State’s genuine efforts in this field.
The meeting also took up the situation in the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, and means to restore security in the region in light of the strait’s great importance to global trade flows and maritime shipping routes, the spokesman said.
In this regard, President Sisi stressed the importance of the IMO’s role as an international party that grouped regional and international parties, as well as effective parties in the field of maritime shipping.
President Sisi expressed Egypt’s aspiration to calm the situation in the region, particularly after concluding a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and within the framework of constant efforts made to restore security in the region.
