The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been elected for the membership of the Executive Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), an affiliate of the United Nations. As many as 40 countries were nominated for the membership of IMO's Executive Council out of its total 167 member states. This development came last night at a meeting of IMO's General Assembly, held here under the chairmanship of IMO'S Secretary General Efthimios E.Mitropoulos. The Kingdom's delegation to the meeting was led by Under Secretary for transport affairs Dr Abdulaziz Al-Ouhali. In a statement to SPA, Dr Al-Ouhali said the Kingdom, which joined IMO in 1969, believes in the important role of IMO in the field of navigation safety and protection of the environment. The Kingdom's election comes in recognition of its pioneering role at the regional and international arenas in several domains including shipping and the great attention it has been giving to the security of navigation and the environmental protection. He attributed the election of the Kingdom to its adherence to the international treaties pertaining to shipping as well as to its strategic location. --MORE
