Dr. Jubarah bin Eid Al-Suraiseri, Minister of Transport of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, today signed with the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Efthimios Metro Polios at IMO headquarters in London today a Code of Conduct to repress piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. Later, Al-Suraiseri held a meeting with Polios to discuss aspects of cooperation between IMO and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the field of maritime transport. Following the meeting, Dr. Al-Suraiseri said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to respond to the United Nations calls to come up to the fight against piracy and armed robbery in the Indian ocean and Gulf of Aden since November 2008. In a press release, the Minister said Saudi Arabia has offered, in addition to its punctual payment of IMO budget share, additional financial contributions to support its technological cooperation program including the international code of conduct's budget for the safety of vessels and port utilities as well as the projects of improving Malaga Strait and Singapore. He thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, and Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister, for their unlimited support for the transport sector in the Kingdom. Dr. Al-Suraiseri gave an account on the Kingdom's efforts in the drive against international piracy and armed robbery.
