By Uzor Odigbo
The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) will next week host a three-day sub-regional summit to strategize on a common position against high shipping surcharges and charges being imposed on shippers by liner conferences from different continents.
The programme will be under the auspices of the Union of African Shippers’ Council (UASC).
The programme include Sub-Regional Workshop on Status of Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention) in UASC Member States and a Joint Standing Committee Meeting of UASC from Monday, August 26 to Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.
In a statement from the Council, the events are a collaborative effort involving the Union of African Shippers’ Council (UASC) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF).
The forums are aimed at achieving the following objectives:
• To provide an avenue for the UASC Member Countries to strategise and articulate common positions on how to checkmate the multinational shipping service providers/carriers with a view to adopting a collective position for presentation at the Annual General Meeting of the Global Shippers’ Forum scheduled for September in London.
• To create more awareness and provide insights to the relevance of the FAL Convention to member Countries for domestication and effective implementation.
Expected participants include UASC Member States, relevant Government Agencies, Ministries, Multi-lateral and Sub-regional organisations in the trade and transport sectors, Public and Private Sector Stakeholders in infrastructure development, ancillary services as well as donor agencies.
