Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco is visiting Bangladesh. He is scheduled to reach Dhaka tonight. He is the 10th Secretary General of IMO.
IMO is the highest specialized organization on shipping of the United Nations. It works globally with responsibility for shipping safety, security and prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. Currently, IMO has 176 member states. The head office of IMO is located in London.
Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco will pay respects and lay wreath at the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at 32 Dhanmondi tomorrow Thursday. On the same day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun and State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury will meet the MP. At noon, he will address the officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the afternoon he will visit the Directorate of Shipping. There he will be briefed about the Establishment of Global Maritime Distress and Safety System and Integrated Maritime Navigation System (EGIMNS) project.
Dominguez will inspect the operations of Chittagong Port on the morning of May 31. There he will be briefed on the Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS), Maheshkhali LNG Terminal, Matarbari Deep Sea Port, Single Buoy Mooring and other ports. The Secretary General will visit the ship recycling yard in Chittagong that afternoon. The next day, June 1, will visit the Chittagong Marine Academy. There he will be briefed on maritime education system in Bangladesh. Cadets of Chittagong Marine Academy, Marine Fisheries Academy and National Maritime Institute will give him a ‘guard of honour’ at the parade ground of Chittagong Marine Academy.
Besides, the graduate students of World Maritime University and International Maritime Law Institute will welcome him. A cultural program will be organized in his honor in Dhaka in the evening. He will leave Dhaka for UK on June 2 morning.
The current Secretary General was elected as the Secretary General of IMO in July 2023. It was approved by the 33rd Assembly of the IMO in December of that year. Its operations started on January 1 of this year. Will continue till 31 December 2027. Bangladesh won Category ‘C’ for the year 2024-2025 in the IMO Executive Council elections on December 1 last year.
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