The 8th Meeting of the APSN Council was successfully held on November 12-13, 2015 in Cebu City, the Philippines.
Mr. Tim Meisner, President of the APSN Council opened the meeting and expressed warm welcome to all the participants and looked forward to a fruitful discussion at the Council meeting. On behalf of the Philippines hosts, Mr. Juan Sta Ana, Council Member of the Philippines, and General Manager of Philippine Ports Authorit also welcomed all the participants to Philippines. Mr. Fei Weijun, on behalf of APSN, expressed gratitude to Philippine Ports Authority and Cebu Ports Authority for their excellent and considerate arrangement for APSN events.
The meeting had extensive discussions on the following issues: APSN Issue Scan, Update on APSN Five-Year Strategic Plan, Action Plan 2016, Amendments to Rules of Procedure, the Implementation Plan and update report for APSN Green Port Award System (GPAS), Update on Membership Dues Collection, APSN Budget for 2016, APSN Progress Report and Port Development Report 2014, as well as outcomes of the APSN Workshop.
The Council thanked the Secretariat for the update on Five-Year Strategic Plan and agreed that it helped to guide the APSN’s activities and key objectives. This also helps to build the APSN’s brand and future directions.
The Council adopted the amendments to Rules of Procedure. Council recognized the importance of the participation of Advisory Board Members, and encouraged them to continue active participation in APSN activities.
The Council recognized the progress made in the last year on the implementation of GPAS, including the development of the Application and Evaluation Guidelines, the comparison with Green Marine and Eco Ports, the ongoing formation of an Expert Pool to evaluate GPAS applications and the completion of the second pilot project. Council thanked the Secretariat for its efforts and it was noted that at the recently held 9th APEC Transport Minister’s Meeting, the efforts of developing GPAS were applauded and encouraged for its launch in 2016.
The Council adopted the implementation plan for membership dues collection recognizing that it will be an evergreen document to be continuously improved and updated. Council also agreed that the membership benefits package is critical in demonstrating the value of the APSN. Council Members were requested to promote APSN in their respective economies and to encourage their ports and related sectors to join APSN.
The Council thanked the Secretariat for the progress report and expressed its appreciation to the Secretariat for their work over the past year. Council noted the development of the new website as a positive step in the promotion of the APSN.
The Council agreed that all presentations made at the Workshop will be available on the APSN website for easy access. Council also agreed that the Workshop report will be shared with all speakers and will be posted on the APSN’s website for access by all Members as well as the general public, and will also be provided for information to the APEC TPT-WG meeting and its Maritime Experts Group.
The Council sincerely thanked the Philippines, in particular the Philippine Ports Authority, the Cebu Port Authority and their partners for hosting the Council Meeting and Workshop and the hospitality extended to all the participants at this meeting.
