Sri Lanka will host the 12th International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) Asia/Oceania Regional Meeting and Port Forum, to promote the local industry and make Sri Lanka a future logistics hub.

The IAPH will be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo, on 8th and 9th of March 2012, under the auspices of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

This event is of great significance for Sri Lankans because it is the first time in the history that an IAPH event takes place in Sri Lanka, stated Dr. Wickrama, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. It gives us an opportunity and a forum to showcase our potential and service excellence to the stakeholders of the port industry, he added, addressing a press conference at the Hilton Hotel, Colombo, today.

In tandem with the IAPH Regional Meeting, "Sri Lanka International Air Freight, Shipping & Logistics Expo 2012", an exhibition organized by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) will take place from March 8 to 10 at BMICH, focusing on the ever-promising Logistics Industry of Sri Lanka.

This will be first exhibition of this magnitude in the history of Sri Lanka, and it will create the hitherto biggest meeting place for the world air freight, shipping and logistics companies to meet together in Sri Lanka.

South Asian counties including Sri Lanka expect to increase container throughput faster than the global average, said IAPH Secretary General Susumu Naruse speaking today (3) at the at the press conference. Ports in Sri Lanka are sufficiently developing, he added.

"We meet regularly to discuss the common interests and share best practices", he said.
Adding his views, Deputy Minister for Ports and Highways Rohitha Abeygunawardena said, “Sri Lanka is now on a crusade of making itself the Miracle of Asia after a thirty-year war. Our country is on a mega development drive with, many highly capital-intensive development initiatives. My wish is to enable the port sector to make the most contribution possible towards this end.”

IAPH is a global alliance representing some 230 ports in about 90 countries. The member ports together handle over 60% of the world's sea-borne trade and 80% of the world container traffic. It is a non-profit making and non-governmental organization headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.