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Saipan to host int’l ports conference
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Posted on Mar 24 2006
The Northern Marianas will play host to ports authority executives and representatives from various countries this year, with the scheduled annual conference of the Association of Pacific Ports on Saipan.
Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Lee Cabrera said some 200 delegates are expected to attend the conference from Aug. 20 to 23.
Cabrera said the CPA is pleased with the selection of the islands as the venue for the conference, saying that the last time the CNMI hosted the association’s annual meeting was in the early 1990s.
Acting CPA board chair Antonio Camacho currently sits as the APP’s president. The CPA board voted Thursday to include trips to Tinian and Rota as part of the delegates’ conference itineraries, which will give the islands an additional exposure as a tourist destination.
APP is an association of ports located in areas tributary to the Pacific Ocean. Besides the CPA, member ports include Alaska, American Samoa, British Columbia, California, Guam, Hawaii, Mexico, Micronesia, Taiwan, and Washington.
Founded in 1913, the association aims to enhance the technical and governance expertise of commissioners and other port officials through meetings, educational seminars and the exchange of appropriate communications, with the end goal of enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of Pacific ports.
Last year, the APP held its annual conference in Seattle, Washington. The APP held its mid-year conference and board meeting in Oxnard, California sometime last February.
