The 21st Annual Meeting of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU)

Dr. Ismail Abdel Ghafour, President of the Arab Academy, Mr. Glenn Blackwood, Chair、the IAMU International Board of Trustees, members from 68 universities and institutions from 36 countries, excellencies and distinguished guests. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the Arab Academy who, under the able leadership of President Ismail, has made it possible for us to hold the 21st Annual General Meeting even under the COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to take this time to once again express my appreciation to all of you for your contribution to the international maritime community over the years, through both the education of maritime professionals and research and study on maritime safety.

As you know, throughout the history of the education of maritime professionals, educational methods and curriculum have been largely developed independently in each country. However, the maritime professionals’ shared work domain is “the ocean, a common heritage of mankind.” Therefore, my dream has always been to establish an environment where they would be able to study using standardized textbooks and educational philosophy. In order to realize such global framework, I made a proposal at the general annual meeting held two years ago in Tokyo. It was the establishment of programs for nurturing maritime human resources for students and faculty of member universities, who embody the basic concept of the Global Maritime Professionals (GMP). I am pleased to see that the pilot program for undergraduate students has started in September this year, and that the program for faculty members is well on its way to becoming a reality.  I would like to thank you all again for your efforts. Shipping accounts for 90% of the world’s logistics, and our prosperous lives are supported by the maritime professionals whom you have trained over the years. I strongly hope that IAMU will continue to take leadership in enhancing the educational programs of global maritime professionals around the world and that each university will strengthen its voice in the maritime sector, and thus, in the international community, through IAMU. Thank you.

＊This video message is available at The Nippon Foundation YouTube.