Informal lunch meeting for States from the Middle East and surrounding regions

On 31 January 2024, the Director, Mr Gaute Sivertsen, hosted an informal lunch meeting for the UK-based representatives of States from the Middle East and surrounding regions at the IOPC Funds’ offices.

The meeting was attended by representatives from eight States, including four 1992 Fund Member States, one Supplementary Fund Member State, four non-Member States, one of which has observer status with the IOPC Funds.

After welcoming all the attendees, Mr Sivertsen gave a brief overview of the IOPC Funds for the benefit of those representatives who were unfamiliar with the organisation. He emphasised, in particular, the importance of States ensuring that the Conventions were correctly implemented into their national legislation to avoid any issues in the event of an incident. He also encouraged active participation at the meetings of the governing bodies and explained that those non-Member States considering joining the 1992 Fund were welcome to apply for observer status so that they could also attend those meetings and learn more about the important role of the IOPC Funds.

This event provided an excellent opportunity for the Secretariat to engage directly with those responsible for IOPC Funds’ matters in an informal setting, establishing or reconnecting with London-based focal points, strengthening Member State engagement and promoting the international regime.

The Director was also pleased to be joined by the Head of the Eastern Europe Section, Sub division for Maritime Development, Technical Cooperation Division of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr Ivaylo Valev. The IMO and IOPC Funds regularly work together to offer support and assistance to States on the implementation of the relevant Conventions and to promote the international liability and compensation regime in general.  This includes the delivery of customised workshops and training activities, both in-person and remote. For further information, please contact externalrelations@iopcfunds.org.

The regional lunch meetings are extremely useful and will continue to be organised during the year ahead. To ensure invitations to such activities are issued to the correct contacts, States are encouraged to inform the Secretariat via the email above of any changes in relevant personnel.