HOUSTON, May 1, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Trade and port security issues were on the minds of port executives at the 25th International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) World Ports Conference being held in Houston, Texas, Tuesday as two senior U.S. government officials delivered timely messages. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson were the featured speakers for Tuesday's agenda.
"Ports are the vehicle for economic growth," said Gutierrez. "Ports are our gateway to the global marketplace, but they can only generate economic activity and support jobs if they are well-run, efficient and easy to navigate."
The growing reliance on the world's ports to fuel a global economy was made clear when the secretary pointed out that in the U.S., 99 percent of the volume of overseas trade enters or leaves by ship.
Gutierrez went on to remind the conference participants that "a generation ago, trade accounted for 17 percent of the world's economy. Today, it's about 30 percent of the world's economy and growing."
Secretary Gutierrez promoted President George W. Bush's proposal to implement free trade agreements with 11 countries. "This is not the time for protectionism," he said. "It is time to continue to engage and lead."
U.S. Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson was the highest profile speaker at this morning's Work Session II where the topic was "Port Security and Risk Management." Homeland Security's No. 2 person provided informative remarks on the department's initiatives to secure ports and the supply chain.
The Deputy Secretary said, "Ocean shipping is a crucial part of the infrastructure, which we must protect. We can't eliminate all risk; we can reduce or mitigate it, but we can't totally eliminate it. It would crush our capacity to operate globally.
"We are not singlemindedly focused on security at all costs. Security and mobility are compatible," Jackson concluded.
Port environmental practices were issues that were dealt with during the conference's afternoon session. IAPH delegates heard from some of the port community's leading experts on projects to protect fragile ecosystems.
The conference, held at the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel, continues through Friday.
The International Association of Ports and Harbors was founded in 1955. For more than 50 years, IAPH has steadily developed as the leading organization in the global maritime industry. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the IAPH comprises representatives from more than 400 ports and top executives from major industry corporations in nearly 90 countries around the world. The members' ports as a whole handle 85 percent of the world's container traffic and more than 60 percent of the global seaborne trade. More information about IAPH is available on www.IAPHworldports.org. For more information regarding the conference, visit www.IAPH2007.com.
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