Qatar's Minister of Transport Meets IMO Secretary-General

London, November 28 (QNA) - HE Minister of Transport, Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, on Saturday held a meeting with Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Koji Sekimizu, at the organization's headquarters in London.       The meeting took place during the participation of the Qatari delegation led by HE Minister of Transport in the 29 session of the IMO General Assembly held in London on 22 November - 4 December.      During the meeting, HE Al Sulaiti briefed the IMO Secretary-General of Hamad Port Logo, officially registered in the United Nations, which in turn has published it to all relevant bodies, including the IMO, the organization responsible for the shipping industry affairs and the issuing of maritime conventions aimed at achieving safety and environmental protection and maritime security. HE the Minister gave a detailed explanation on Hamad Port in terms of capacity and the latest international technology being implemented, adding that it is slated to enter into operation on a trial basis the end of 2015, including loading and unloading, import vehicles and construction equipment stations. The first phase of the Hamad Port will be fully operational in late 2016, which will boost Qatari exports and imports volume and significantly increase the volume of maritime trade between Qatar and the rest of the world, placing Qatar as a global commercial hub according to Qatar National Vision 2030, HE Al Sulaiti went on saying.        HE Al Sulaiti also stressed the importance of adopting IMO's visions and strategies to achieve a maritime sector characterized by an operational efficiency, safe navigation and maritime safety, pointing out that the State of Qatar is a founding member of the Riyadh Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the control of visiting ships of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ports. The meeting also touched on the relations between the State of Qatar and the IMO in the field of maritime transport industry and means of enhancing them. Following the meeting, HE Minister of Transport presented souvenir to the IMO received by its Secretary-General in the presence of Qatar's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, HE Yousef bin Ali Al Khater, and a number of heads of GCC, Arab and foreign delegations taking part in the 29 session of the IMO General Assembly. (QNA)