YAOUNDE, March 9 (Xinhua) — Port and transport experts from several West and Central African countries have been meeting since Monday in Yaoundé to examine prospects for modernization and improving the performance of the sub-region’s ports, the country’s public media, reported CRTV.
The meeting is held at the Yaoundé Convention Center as part of the technical sessions of the Association de gestion des ports de l’Afrique et du Centre West (AGPAOC). It is to continue until March 11, with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of the subregion’s ports in an increasingly competitive international maritime environment.
Port experts, general managers, delegates and technicians from several countries discuss in particular the modernization of infrastructure, the fluidity of maritime traffic, the digitization of port procedures and the security of operations.
According to Jean-Marie Koffi, Secretary General of the AGPAOC, improving port performance remains a central issue for the states of the sub-region. It is necessary to develop a real corporate culture and to know how to manage sensitivities. The management of carbon emissions generated along the supply chain should not be the responsibility of local authorities alone, but must also involve port authorities, he said.
He also stressed the need to take advantage of existing experiences in the sub-region. « Between what is done in Abidjan, Douala or Sierra Leone, it is a matter of identifying good practices. When certain approaches produce convincing results and have been evaluated, it is this dynamic that should be promoted, » concluded Mr. Koffi. End
source : French news
