The biennial World Port Conference is scheduled to take place in
Shanghai between May 21 and 27 this year, according to the Shanghai
International Harbor (Group) Co. Ltd.
This will be the first time that China is hosting the event.
Participants at this year's conference will include 1,000
officials and representatives from the Association of International
Ports, representatives from the World Bank, government department
representatives, international shipping companies and port
operators.
The conference is organized by the Association of International
Ports, which is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The association has
347 members including China's Shanghai, Qingdao and Dalian
ports.
The conference will focus on topics such as the influence of
economic globalization on harbor environments and the shipping
industry, port development, port security, diversified investment
in port cities and port technical innovation. The 24th
International Port Exhibition, 22 technical panel discussions, and
six special working meetings will be held concurrently with the
seven-day conference.?
(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2005)