The MMW also included the 12th Indian Ocean Ports & Logistics (IOPL) 2018 Conference and Exhibition as well as a CEO Forum.

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1 A delegation from the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) and the Seychelles Petroleum Company Limited (Seypec) took part in the first Maritime Week organised in Mauritius. The event, that took place between January 23 and 26, 2018 was organised by the Mauritius Ports Authority (MPA) in collaboration with Transport Events Management Ltd of Malaysia as well as various other sponsors as part of activities to celebrate the 50 th anniversary of the Republic of Mauritius this year as an independent country. The SPA s representatives were chief executive Colonel André Ciseau and David Bianchi, director for Strategies at SPA, while Seypec was represented by Sarah Romain, general manager (Commercial) and Alexandre Barbier, sales and marketing officer. The Mauritius Maritime Week (MMW) 2018 was officially launched by the Mauritian Prime Minister, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. Several Mauritian ministers delivered key note addresses during the various sessions throughout the week outlining their respective sector s strategic vision and direction in regards to the maritime advancement of Mauritius.

2 The MMW also included the 12th Indian Ocean Ports & Logistics (IOPL) 2018 Conference and Exhibition as well as a CEO Forum. The objective of this international event was to showcase Mauritius, especially Port Louis Harbour, as a growing cruise tourism destination as well as an important logistics and transport hub in the region. The MMW 2018 featured 30 international exhibition stands, 35 international conference speakers and over 300 delegates who discussed topical issues and challenges on global ports and maritime transportation and logistics. The event saw senior port executives interact with the region s leading shippers, cargo owners, importers/exporters, shipping lines, freight forwarders, logistics companies, ports, terminal operators, railway operators, port equipment and service suppliers from the Indian Ocean islands and countries from Africa, Europe and Asia. The event also provided networking opportunities for professionals to discuss the challenges unfolding in the transportation and logistics sector, as well as emerging risks and opportunities for the industry to promote economic prosperity and women empowerment among others. The IOPL 2018 provided key industry leaders and market regulators from various parts of the world with a venue in maintaining cutting-edge knowledge and skills in port, shipping and logistics. More importantly, MMW 2018 aimed to promote the advancement of logistics and transport in the region - hence the strong relevance of Seychelles participation.

3 A selection of strategic topics featured the presentations by the different speakers from different countries and related discussions, questions and answers that took place during the technical sessions. Col. Ciseau made a presentation entitled Smart Port Developments and Concepts, its Benefits and Making the Best of Limited Resources, a strategic topic chosen to highlight a possible model for the future of Port Victoria. This is relevant as the government of Seychelles has recently approved a major undertaking to extend and modernise the port of Seychelles that will include an extension of the Commercial Port from 370 metres to 600 metres and deepening of Port Victoria harbour and turning basin in order that in future our port will be able to accommodate more, larger and more technically advanced and gearless ships that currently are not able to berth alongside quay because of the infrastructural and equipment limitations and other inadequacies at the port. Such an event is important for Seychelles as it provides a perfect platform to network with and learn from various government officials, port operators, service providers, port logistics companies and other players in the port and maritime industry including bunkering (ship re-fuelling) interests. Topics covered during the week also included technological advancements in maritime transportation, new fuels, new rules, new technologies and new opportunities in regards to bunkering, port handling technologies, enhancing efficiencies and productivities in port, oceanographic research and sustainable development of the blue (ocean) economy, trade facilitation and customs procedures with emphasis on cost effective solutions and process improvements, optimising trade routes in the Indian Ocean, embracing transport logistics for greater socio-economic prosperity. The delegates had the chance to visit all the port and fuel storage facilities of Mauritius and were briefed extensively on expansion plans of the country for the port and fuel storage depots. The Minister for Tourism of Mauritius, Anil Kumarsingh Gayan, chaired a session on cruise tourism which also featured a presentation by Pascal Viroleau of Reunion and chief executive of the Vanilla Islands. The cruise tourism session was also animated by other experts in the field from other parts of the world. The main lessons drawn from the event are that the port and maritime industry and technologies in the region and beyond are developing and evolving extremely rapidly and with the increasing investor influence of some big external players, the business model, the dynamics and strategic inter-play of the industry are fast changing. Many speakers presented their respective country s future port re- development strategic plans and it is clear that countries Seychelles being no exception - must develop and improve the adequacy and efficiency of their international ports infrastructure, port services and

4 logistics and landside cargo handling innovations and move with the pace or face the prospects of maritime marginalisation and serious maritime transport cost escalation which would adversely impact on their social and economic sectors. Finding ways to increase container traffic volumes through re-export/ trans- shipment is a challenge that Port Victoria must face and if successful can generate significant economies of scale and reduction in shipping cost. The success of the port business depends critically on the volume of trade. On the sidelines of the conference, the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection, Ashit Kumar Gungah and a delegation from the State Trading Corporation (STC) of Mauritius requested a meeting with the Seychelles delegation to discuss some issues of a strategic and commercial nature and of mutual relevance between Seychelles and Mauritius. While in Mauritius, the SPA delegation also attended the Association of Ports of the Indian Ocean Islands (APIOI) meeting of which one of the main agenda items was the official transfer of the chairmanship of the Association from Col. Ciseau to the chairperson of the MPA, Ramalingum Maistry, as Col. Ciseau s two year mandate as chairman has come to an end. The tenure of chairmanship of the APIOI is on a country, two-year rotation basis among the membership. During one of the MMW 2018 events, Col. Ciseau was honoured with a personal achievement trophy by the secretary general of the Port Management Association for Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA) in recognition of his dedication and devotion to the cause of port developments in Africa and for playing a key role in linking and strengthening the collaboration between the APIOI and PMAESA.

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