SLPA to host 19th Conference on International Network of Affiliated Ports

The 19th conference on International Network of Affiliated Ports (INAP) will be held on 07th and 08th November at the Kingsbury Hotel Colombo.  

The two-day international maritime conference of regional importance  that will be held with the participation of eight countries  including Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines South Africa,  South Korea and Sri Lanka  will be hosted by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). The conference will be held  with the fullest patronage and  initiative of Minister of Ports and Shipping 
Mahinda Samarasinghe.

The Deputy Minister of Ports and Shipping Nishantha Muthuhettigama will attend  as the Guest of Honour. 

Following a decision made at the commissioning of the new Port of Kochi in Japan in 1998, to create an opportunity for all affiliated ports to meet together, Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) held the first international symposium from 17th to 19th November 1998 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo with the participation of six ports established within the region. This symposium was held around the theme of ‘Global Peace through Sister Ports.’
In the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Symposium, Governor Hashimoto proposed the ‘Port Network Alliance’ concept based on cooperation among sister ports. The alliance would aim at exchanging and sharing information on marine transport and port affairs, studying and discussing potential measures to promote mutual exchanges, and moreover creating a world scale port network which could respond the needs of marine transport on the basis of intra-regional networks consisting of member ports.

The idea was further developed by Sri Lanka at the symposium to witness the establishment of an international network organization for sister ports, the ‘International Network of Affiliated Ports’ (INAP).
The  Port of Colombo, the Port of Kochi, the Port of Qingdao
the Port of Subic Bay and the Port of Tanjung Perak became the founding members of the INAP. The port of Cebu in Philippines became a new member port in 2000. The Mokpo New Port joined in 2007 and the Korean port of Dangjin joined in 2014. Port of Davavo Phillipines joined the network  in 2016. 
In recognition of the their pioneering efforts, during the time of establishment of INAP,  the former Minister of Ports Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction M. H. M. Ashraff from Sri Lanka and Governor Daijiro Hashimoto from Kochi are regarded as founding fathers of INAP.

Since the  first International Symposium of the INAP  held at the  BMICH, in Colombo, in November 1998 the INAP has done an unprecedented amount of work for the past twelve years since its inception, making a tremendous contribution to the maritime industry, regional/global trade and regional/global peace.

The INAP Secretariat is currently located at the Port of Kochi in Japan. At present, the network consists of  nine member port s in six countries that include  the Port of  Cebu, Port of  Davao and the Port of Subic Bay in Philippines, Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka, Port of Dangin and  Port of Mokpo New Port  in South Korea, Port of Kochi in Japan, Port of Qingdao in China and the Port of Tanjung Perak in Indonesia.