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OAS Secretary General Presides over Awards Ceremony of the CIP to Companies from Canada, Chile, Colombia, United States and Uruguay

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today presided over the first installment of the Maritime Awards of the Americas of the Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP), which were awarded to companies from Canada, Chile, Colombia, United States and Uruguay, as part of the Ninth regular meeting of the body, which is taking place at the headquarters of the hemispheric institution in Washington, DC.

The Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, congratulated the public and private companies operating in the ports of the Americas and praised their ability to have accompanied the region in the economic growth experienced between 2002 and 2012, a period which Latin America grew from 5 percent of the global economy to 8 percent. "Our growth is based mainly on exports, especially food, because we are a region capable of producing food surpluses. It is important to recognize the operational capacity of the region's ports to accompany the export growth rate of the region, because food is perishable and to export them in a timely manner good managers are needed," he said.

The head of the hemispheric Organization explained that, through the awards, the OAS recognizes successful practices that demonstrate excellence, innovation and sustainability in the maritime and port sector in the Hemisphere. "This initiative is in line with one of the goals of this Organization, which is to promote and strengthen international cooperation and collaboration, and in particular horizontal and triangular cooperation as an effective means for development," he said. "In the Americas, where there are different levels of economic and social development, it is important to establish partnerships for development, in order to progress successfully in all areas, including the ports sector," he added.

In the "Environmental Waste Management" category, prizes were awarded to the company Desgagnes Transport, Inc., of Canada, in the sub-category Commercial Shipping; to the company Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD, United States, in the sub-category Cruise Lines; to the National Ports Authority of Uruguay, in the sub-category Ports; and in the same sub-category to Port Authority Arica of Chile.

In the Sustainable Tourism Destination Port category, the prize went to the Regional Port Society of Cartagena, Colombia. In the Corporate Social Responsibility in Ports category the award went to the Port Authority of Santa Marta, Colombia. Also, the CIP gave an honorable mention to the company Coastal Environmental Services Inc, of the United States.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-265/14