More than 500 senior officials and experts are set to meet at an international counter-piracy conference to be held in Dubai on September 11 and 12.

The third Public-Private International Counter-Piracy Conference, under the theme ‘Countering Maritime Piracy: Continued Efforts for Regional Capacity Building,’ will be jointly convened by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, global ports operator DP World and Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC).

Building capacity in the region includes countering piracy in the short term through effective security initiatives, including co-ordination between international navies and merchant vessels, and longer term initiatives that support the development of local communities, said a statement.

The conference participants include foreign ministers, senior government officials, military officers, executives of global maritime-sector companies, and leading experts who will present papers on efforts to combat maritime piracy.
 
The briefing papers are grouped under four broad areas: “The Maritime Security Dimension and Capacity Building”, “Private Sector Contribution to Counter-Piracy Efforts (Ports & Industry)”, “A Different Dimension to Countering Piracy: Humanitarian Efforts for Alternative Livelihoods”, and “Attributing Success Factors for Counter-Piracy in a Complex Environment”.

The papers reflect diverse viewpoints including developing a sustainable maritime strategy for Somalia and engaging West African leaders to unite against piracy in their region, private sector contributions, and the use of a model to develop counter-piracy capabilities advocated by the UAE to close specific capability gaps and target assistance where it can have the greatest impact.

During the conference, a plenary session will examine how to measure success in countering piracy off the coast of Somalia, while breakout working sessions will review maritime security and capacity building, humanitarian aid programmes and the response to the issue of maritime piracy by the maritime industry. - TradeArabia News Service