UAE to host the international counter piracy conference

In its continued efforts to further advance public-private coordination to counter the growing threat of maritime piracy, the United Arab Emirates, in a partnership between the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and global ports operator DP World , will convene its second public-private international counter piracy conference in Dubai, on 27-28 June. Foreign ministers and senior government officials from more than 50 countries as well as CEOs of leading global companies in maritime related industries are being invited to the two-day event, entitled ‘A Regional Response to Maritime Piracy: Enhancing Public-Private Partnerships and Strengthening Global Engagement’, to be held in Dubai between June 27 and 28, 2012. This UAE driven conference aims to build up on achievements of last year’s UAE-hosted forum, which saw over 700 delegates representing more than 65 governments, international organisations and more than 120 representatives of the global maritime industry come together in Dubai to share experiences and develop coordinated international initiatives to face the challenges of maritime piracy. The first high-level public-private Counter-Piracy Conference, ‘Global Threat, Regional Responses: Forging a Common Approach to Maritime Piracy’, convened in April 2011, was a landmark event in international counter-piracy cooperation. It signalled a transformative moment in the maritime sector’s engagement with the international community on counter-piracy, as a number of maritime companies donated funds to the United Nations’ Trust Fund for initiatives to counter piracy off the coast of Somalia. The Conference achieved the unanimous agreement of a strong and substantive Conference Declaration that covered a range of counter-piracy issues, and has since served as a benchmark for regional piracy policies. It also helped emphasise the priority of the threat of maritime piracy among the businesses and governments of the region, and provided an opportunity for the wider international community to reaffirm commitment to supporting the region at the forefront of combating this global challenge. Piracy’s devastating human and financial costs continue with 13 vessels hijacked and 197 seafarers held in captivity in the first three months of this year. Hundreds of families are being victimised by this growing threat; annual financial cost to global trade is estimated at $12 billion a year, according to the International Maritime Bureau.