Malaysia Re-Elected to IMO Council

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has been re-elected for the fourth consecutive time to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), said Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha. He said Malaysia garnered 120 votes from the 155 eligible voting states to sit on the 20-member council's Category C for countries with maritime and navigational interests for the 2012-2013 term. "This is a great achievement for Malaysia as we managed to get re-elected for the fourth consecutive time. This shows that the members are satisfied with our performance at the council all this while," he said in a text message to Bernama here from London. Kong expressed his appreciation to the entire campaign taskforce for its hard work. The Malaysian delegation to the assembly, headed by Kong, also comprised Malaysia's high commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, Zakaria Sulong, and several officials from the Transport Ministry. The council's Category C members are Singapore, Bahamas, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Kenya, Cyprus, Belgium, Turkey, Morocco, the Philippines, Liberia, Chile, Jamaica, Malaysia, Malta, South Africa, Egypt, Mexico and Denmark. The newly-elected members of the council's Category A, which comprises 10 states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services, are China, Panama, Greece, South Korea, Italy, Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Norway and the United States. The members of the council's Category B, which comprises 10 states with the largest interest in international seaborne trade, are Argentina, Germany, Bangladesh, India, Brazil, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, France and Sweden. The council elections are one of the highlights of the IMO general assembly, which convenes every two years. Among others, it makes policy decisions on the IMO's direction and endorses its activities. The IMO is the United Nation's specialised agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships. -- BERNAMA