ISLAMABAD: (Parliament Times) World Maritime Day (WMD) is celebrated each year to highlight the
contributions of International Maritime Industry in World’s economy and to focus
attention on the importance of shipping safety, maritime security and marine
environment. On the occasion of WMD 2019, International Maritime Organization
(IMO) has adopted the theme ‘Empowering Women in the Maritime Community’ to
raise awareness on the importance of gender equality in line with the United
Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Contributions of women in the Maritime
Sector remain largely underutilized in the World and Pakistan is no exception. It
requires all maritime nations to create environment and career development
opportunities for women in maritime administration, ports and maritime training
institutes. Empowering women fuels economies, spurs productivity and
enhances growth, thus benefiting every stakeholder associated with the global
maritime community.
Pakistan is blessed with over 1,000 km coastline and an Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) / Continental Shelf of 2,90,000sq km with abundance of
living and non-living resources. As the CPEC is set in motion, maritime activities
in Pakistan are bound to increase manifold. There is a need to capitalize on the
associated economic opportunities which would only be possible by building
capacity of our Maritime Sector. Attracting women, constituting about half of our
population, to maritime related fields would, therefore, help in accruing long term
benefits from our maritime potential.
Pakistan Navy fully supports the growth of Maritime Sector in the country
and is leading the way in raising maritime awareness; a fundamental pre-requisite
for maritime development. This is being pursued through a vigorous Maritime
Awareness Campaign Plan which includes engagement with all stakeholders to
enhance their knowledge about potentials of our Blue Economy. The interactions
are backed by research based pragmatic solutions that can help foster our
maritime industry. Another thrust line being pursued is the promotion of Maritime
Education Sector. In this regard, Bahria University has recently commenced
Masters and Graduate programmes for male as well as female students, in
Maritime discipline.
Pakistan Navy, on this important day, pledges its full support towards
development of Maritime Sector in Pakistan and empowerment of women in
various maritime related fields. Growth in Maritime Sector would be a step
towards attaining self-sufficiency and economic development. I look forward to
whole-hearted support from all stakeholders to help achieve true dividends of our
Blue Economy.
