Islamabad, (Parliament Times) : Meeting of 4th Advisory Board of National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA) was held at Islamabad. Admiral (R) Asif Sandila, former Chief of Naval Staff, Chairman BoA, chaired the meeting. Members and special invitees / maritime experts attended the meeting.
V/Adm (R) Abdul Aleem, DG NIMA, welcomed the participants and emphasized on creating synergy amongst all maritime stakeholders for furtherance of maritime sector. He emphasized that Pakistan should endeavour to achieve the goals set by UN under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and UN Ocean Decade 2020-30. Else, the price of degradation of ocean health will be borne by our future generations. Cdre (R) Bilal Abdul Nasir Director NIMA, briefed the house about various activities and future undertakings of the Institute in the domain of maritime affairs.
Board members and participants gave pertinent input on the various agenda items and future targets of the institute. Detailed discussions on fishing sector of Pakistan, ports and harbours, shipping, ship breaking & ship recycling industry, maritime tourism and the problems being faced by the maritime communities were also held. Board also approved future plans of action for year 2022-23.
In his closing remarks, Admiral Sandila appreciated the valuable inputs and suggestions provided by the eminent participants. While underscoring the need to enhance maritime awareness in the country, the Chairman BoA emphasized on the issues of climate change, maritime pollution, biodiversity and sustainable use of ocean resources. He further said that research should be people centric and industry should be able to seek benefit from the research.
In the end, new website of NIMA (www.nimapak.org) was also launched during the event. Chairman BoA, Admiral Asif Sandila inaugrated the new website and applauded the efforts of NIMA team.
