The Diplomat
Spain has been elected for the first time to chair the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), during the 32nd session of the General Assembly, which concluded last Wednesday in London.
The presidency will be held on behalf of Spain by Víctor Jiménez Fernández, Transport Counsellor at the Embassy in London, with twenty years’ experience in the maritime sector and, since 2016, permanent representative of our country at the IMO.
Spain obtained 24 of the 20 votes available and won the Presidency of the Council in the first ballot, beating the candidatures of Malaysia, which obtained 14 votes, and Vanuati, which obtained 2.
The Director General of the Merchant Navy, Benito Núñez, congratulated the new President of the Council and stressed that this election will mean improving Spain’s visibility in the international maritime sector and participating in the front row of the challenges and projects that will affect maritime transport in the coming years.
The IMO council is the executive and governing body of the IMO, and the president’s mission is to direct, moderate and take decisions based on the opinions of the member states.
Sources from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda said that the election “represents an enormous endorsement and recognition of Spain’s work within the IMO and places our country at the forefront of the international maritime sector”.
Several days ago, during the Assembly, Spain was re-elected as a member of the IMO Council for the 2022-2023 biennium, in category B, which includes the 10 countries with the greatest interests in international trade.
Our country participated for the first time in the IMO Council in 1973 and, since 2001, it has maintained its position in the B category. There is a category A, which includes the 10 countries with the greatest interests in the provision of international maritime services, and a category C, which includes 20 countries by geographical representation.
