The Regional Academy of Marine Sciences and Technologies (ARSTM) recently celebrated the official graduation of its 35th promotion of officer students at its Yopougon headquarters.
The ceremony was attended by several dignitaries, including the Senate President, Kandia Camara, who served as the promotion’s sponsor, and the Minister of Transport, Amadou Koné.
This graduating class, consisting of 207 students, includes nationals from nine countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Senegal, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire.
During the event, the promotion’s sponsor reaffirmed the commitment of the Ivorian Head of State and government to make ARSTM a leading institution in Africa. She emphasized that by training highly qualified professionals, ARSTM is contributing to building a better future for the African maritime industry and promoting economic growth, security, and regional cooperation.
Kandia Camara also urged the graduates to embody values of hard work, fraternity, solidarity, and excellence, and to work towards African integration in their respective countries.
“Having shared years of training in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity, you are providing our sub-region and the African continent with the means to integrate our national economies and develop them for the benefit of our populations. Be ambassadors of these values wherever you go and embody them in service of your future employers and our respective states to build and strengthen the African community,” she said.
She highlighted that ARSTM remains a crucial pillar for training maritime elites, a driver of development, and a symbol of academic excellence in Africa.
Minister of Transport Amadou Koné, in turn, encouraged the graduates to show courage and dedication to carve out their place in their countries’ professional fabric. He also expressed gratitude to all partners, notably Japan, for their support to ARSTM and congratulated the Academy’s Director General, Colonel Karim Coulibaly, for his efforts in enhancing the institution’s reputation and addressing unemployment in the sub-region.
Colonel Karim Coulibaly noted that the 207 officers had been trained at either the Higher School of Maritime Transport or the Higher School of Navigation and Maritime Teaching and Learning College. Some hold a Master’s degree in port and maritime management, logistics, and transport, while others have qualifications in “Long Course Captain,” “First and Second Class Engine Officers,” and “Naval Mechanics and Nautical Sciences.”
He also mentioned that for the academic year 2023-2024, ARSTM has 645 students from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Senegal, and Togo.
Source: fratmat.info
