Mr. Strand, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

It is my great pleasure to welcome you all on behalf of the Hong Kong Maritime Industry Council, and indeed the Hong Kong Government, to the BIMCO Asia Shipping School, held for the first time in Hong Kong. The response to this opportunity is just overwhelming - and we are pleased to be able to host this prestigious and popular full week course in Hong Kong, we welcome it, and we wish it a great success.

The importance of international shipping to the global economy and world trade hardly needs any emphasis. We all know that very well. To many, shipping has been the foundation on which international trade is being carried as evidenced by the very fact that seaborne trade is carrying the bulk of the world trade tonnage. Hong Kong as a major trading economy of the world has been benefitting from this role of shipping. But it is also clear that international shipping is a very important economic sector on its own with a long history that straddles several centuries - it predates but also promotes and facilitates the process of what is now fashionably called "globalization".

In its totality, our maritime community includes not only operators in the narrow trade related service based context that I have just mentioned, but owners, managers, brokers, financial institutions, insurance houses, law firms and other related service providers. It is thus a complex - and sophisticated - sector that evolves constantly and rapidly over time in relation to the service, legal, financial, and trans-border challenges of its wide ranging businesses and activities. The increased globalization of the world economy and the rise of emerging economies, notably in Asia, have added a further dimension to this array of challenges.

We are proud that being one of the leading international maritime centres in the world, Hong Kong has been playing an active role in the development of the international shipping sector. Shipping companies, shipping related operations and maritime professionals have taken advantage of the strategic location of Hong Kong, its excellent infrastructure, and its free port status to operate in Hong Kong over the years, providing high quality maritime services not only to Hong Kong and the Mainland of China, but also to operators in the region and around the world. To underline this point, you may wish to note that the Hong Kong Shipping Registry has grown more than six-fold in the last 10 years since 1997 and now has a registered tonnage of over 36 million tons.

Recognizing the established role of international shipping in the Hong Kong economy and witnessing the fast growth and development in shipping in the Asia Pacific, Hong Kong has actively been fostering co-operation with the international maritime community, in particular BIMCO. With its prestige, worldwide network, acknowledged expertise, and commitment to service, BIMCO is a leader in maritime training and has helped nurture many of today's and tomorrow's successful leaders and professionals in the industry.

Last June, Hong Kong was honoured to have played host to the BIMCO General Meeting and welcomed many members in the world of international shipping to our city. We are also placing great importance on the need for quality maritime professionals for the long term and sustained development of the shipping industry. Our commitment to human resources development has driven the Hong Kong Maritime Industry Council, in cooperation with BIMCO, to organize the "Check Before Fixing" Seminar early last year. The seminar gave a general overview of the basic issues in shipping, and helped newcomers establish themselves in the industry. It also provided a forum for fellow maritime professionals to meet, share experience and explore opportunities for business cooperation. The enthusiastic response to the seminar was a great encouragement to us.

Riding on the momentum of this success, we are glad to have the agreement of BIMCO to hold its prestigious Asia Shipping School here in Hong Kong. We are confident that the BIMCO Asia Shipping School 2008 will be another successful co-operative event between the Hong Kong Maritime Industry Council and BIMCO. We look forward to more such collaborative efforts in the future for the benefit of the shipping community in the region.

Once again my best wishes to all of you. Thank you.