The president of the executive committee of the Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP), Gonzalo Mórtola, urged this Monday (1.4.209) in Panama greater cooperation that would contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the sector in Latin America.
"We are obliged to be competitive, without ceasing to cooperate. It is a race against time that we must face as a team," stressed Mórtola at the opening of the IV Hemispheric Conference on Competitiveness, Innovation and Logistics: Technology focused on the Value Chain, in a hotel in the Panamanian capital.
Representatives from 26 countries are taking part in the three-day meeting, which is being held in parallel with the XNUMXst Latin American Meeting of the International Association of Ports and Harbors, according to the organizers of the meeting, which is scheduled to run until Wednesday.
Mórtola identified that in Latin America, and on the continent, there are great challenges and needs for investment in innovation and technology, in a part of the world that in many cases has been relegated in this type of development.
In an interview with Xinhua, he also pointed out that training is a priority in which investment should be made, and considered the creativity that has been present in terminals in the region to find solutions to the challenges that arise as a positive factor.
The president of the CIP executive committee also considered investment in sustainability in the sector to be a priority, and pointed out that the work promoted by the OAS (Organization of American States) in certification related to compliance with new regulations, such as ISO 9001 and 14001, is therefore relevant.
Mórtola said that there is investment available in ports to improve port competitiveness in the region and that this is key, in addition to the proper management of these resources.
He also praised the close work with other ports, such as the port of Rotterdam, whose relationship he acknowledged was important in the development of Argentine port policy.
Jorge Durán, Secretary of the CIP, identified environmental considerations as the main challenges to increasing port capacity in Latin America, including compliance with MARPOL, which he highlighted as an agreement made by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and which refers to actions to prevent pollution from ships.
He explained that if a port does not comply with requirements related to waste management, water management and even ship emissions, an agent is likely to decide to send a ship to another terminal that does comply.
Durán noted that most ports in Latin America are in the second generation, some in the third, but that what is really wanted is to have fourth generation ports in the region, such as the terminals in Hamburg and Rotterdam, where technology is essential, and all the actors linked to the logistics chain are interconnected.
But he added that it is not enough for an investment to be made by a maritime authority or a port, so it must be made by all the actors that form part of this value chain.
Eddie Tapiero, an economist and researcher at the Panama Canal Authority, agreed on the importance of making a paradigm shift, in order to be willing to collaborate and promote the sector.
Source: Xinhua
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