Some 25 delegates from 13 countries in the Mediterranean, together with representatives from the International Maritime Organisation and the EU are currently in Malta for a regional seminar on maritime safety and the second regional conference related to the MEDA Project.
The MEDA project is a Euro-Mediterranean partnership agreed upon in 1995 in Barcelona, between 12 Mediterranean countries and a number of EU member states. The process was followed by another meeting in 1996 in Cyprus during which a number of assistance programmes aimed at strengthening maritime administrations of the Mediterranean were established.
The conference will serve as an opportunity for delegates to discuss the findings and recommendations of IMO experts made during fact-finding visits to maritime administrations in the Mediterranean.
Competitiveness and Comm-unication Minister Censu Galea yesterday kicked off the first session of the seminar, by saying Malta believes that technical cooperation is an effective tool in ensuring the adoption and maintenance of optimal standards. Technical cooperation allows countries to exchange ideas as well as policies and to benefit from the expertise provided, he concluded.