HOUSTON, Nov. 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) will serve as the lead host and sponsor of the Inter-American Committee on Ports of the Organization of American States (OAS-CIP) when the organization's executive board conducts its seventh meeting in Houston from December 7 through 9, 2005 at the Hilton Americas - Houston Hotel, 1600 Lamar Street in Houston, Texas. The OAS-CIP unites the highest level national port government authorities of the 34 OAS member countries of this hemisphere with a main objective of cooperation for port development.
U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) John Paul Woodley, Jr., representing the US PIANC Section, will sign a memorandum of agreement (MOU) with the OAS-CIP during the meeting. The MoU is a document that provides the basis for mutual understanding and cooperation between the two organizations by acknowledging their common purposes and interests. PHA Chairman Jim Edmonds and PHA Executive Director Tom Kornegay will serve as hosts and deliver remarks that will focus on building and promoting trade development relationships and opportunities among ports in Houston and throughout the U.S. and Latin America.
Mr. Carlos M. Gallegos, Executive Secretary of the CIP, pointed out that the areas on interest highlighted in the MoU include an international forum for cooperation, dissemination of best practices, government and private sector cooperation, appropriate technical training, and a hemispheric network of port professionals. The areas of cooperation consist of international cooperation, technical cooperation, training, events cooperation and exchange of ideas and information. It is fitting that the agreement will be signed at the upcoming conference, as it will also focus on cooperation in various areas between the ports of the Americas.
"We are looking forward to meeting with Secretary Woodley," stated PHA Executive Director Tom Kornegay. "The conference is expected to be attended by more than 125 executive leaders from the 34 top-ranking national government port authorities of the Americas. Mexico and several of the countries represented at the conference rank among the Port of Houston's 50 largest trading partners."
Of the countries that rank among the Houston port's 50 largest trading partners, 14 of them are OAS member countries. These countries account for a combined cargo value of nearly $20.5 billion in trade and include (ranked by size followed by 2004 cargo tonnage and 2004 cargo value):
1st - Mexico (34.1 million tons; $7.7 billion) 2nd - Venezuela (12 million tons; $3.2 billion) 7th - Brazil (4 million tons; $3.1 billion) 16th - Colombia (2 million tons; $1.28 billion) 19th - Argentina (1.6 million tons; $970 million) 25th - Trinidad and Tobago (1.4 million tons; $593.3 million) 28th - Panama (1.3 million tons; $288.8 million) 30th - Ecuador (1.3 million tons; $578.8 million) 33rd - Chile (1.2 million tons; $1.18 billion) 34th - Canada (1.2 million tons; $470 million) 39th - Honduras (642,581 tons; $275.1 million) 40th - Guatemala (636,966 tons; $294.9 million) 44th - Dominican Republic (457,074 tons, $388.8 million) 50th - The Bahamas (379,968 tons; $120.5 million)
Other countries expected to be represented by delegates at the OAS-CIP meeting include Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, United States, and Uruguay.
The conference's extensive agenda includes the evaluation of the organization's activities during the past year, adoption of the 2006 work plan and the implementations of new projects approved by the committee - including cooperative projects with the International Association of Ports and Harbors, the American Association of Ports and Harbors, and the International Navigation Association.
The deadline for OAS-CIP registration is Friday, November 18, 2005. The delegate registration fee is $300 per person. Companions accompanying delegates also may register for $250 per person. For more details and convenient 24-hour online registration (including international wire transfers), please visit: www.OASCIP-Houston.com
About the Port of Houston Authority
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com. To access the port's website photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery.
About the Organization of American States
The purpose of the Organization of American States is to strengthen peace and security in the hemisphere; promote representative democracy; ensure the peaceful settlement of disputes among members; provide for common action in the event of aggression; and promote economic, social, and cultural development.
About the Inter-American Committee on Ports
The Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) has established important relationships and joined efforts with many international organizations including the American Association of Port Authorities, the World Bank, the Economic Commission on Latin American and the Caribbean, the International Labor Organization, the Central American Commission of Maritime Transport, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, and the International Maritime Organization, among others. The CIP is credited with establishing important international cooperation programs which have benefited port sector workers as well as executives, in all OAS Member States. Such programs deal with the exchange of information, technical and professional training, direct technical assistance, among other issues. These programs yielded important benefits for all participants.