Government of Georgia announces to hold in September 2016 at the port city of Batumi, Georgia’s maritime centre, an international maritime forum under the patronage of Prime Minister H.E. Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The principal aim of the event is to raise awareness within the region and beyond, of the indispensability of shipping and, at the same time, of the critical need of ensuring healthy oceans, a delicate balance that a carefully devised and executed integrated maritime policy can go a long way to sustain. The Forum aims to be not simply informative but also suggestive and proactive.

The dates for the Forum has been set for the week commencing 12 September with Tuesday 13 being the opening and main day. The following two days will be devoted towards taking the Forum to a practical level and plans are at hand with the Secretariat of International Maritime Organization to hold seminars where the main participants will be the head of Administrations of the region and other invited personalities and key players. The seminar will focus on integrated maritime policy. Another parallel event will jointly be organized by Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships Project (GloMEEP) (financed by GEF-UNDP and implemented by IMO Major Projects Implementation Section at the Marine Environment Protection Division) and the Government of Georgia. 15 IMO members States, Argentina, China, Georgia, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Morocco, Panama, Philippines and South Africa representatives will participate in the event.

The whole event will offer possibility for inter action between the regulator and the industry and to open dialogue between shipping personalities and environmentalists.