UAE to host 2nd counter piracy conference in June

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and DP World  will convene the second public-private international counter piracy conference in Dubai on June 27-28.

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'.

The 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.

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.