Fifth MedTrade Summit in Malta

Malta Freeport Terminals, in conjunction with the Management Intelligence Unit (MIU), is once again holding the MedTrade conference, now in its fifth edition, in Malta on Thursday and Friday at Hilton Malta, St Julian's.

MedTrade is the show for all transport operators involved with the timely, efficient movement of containers in the Mediterranean region.

The welcome address of the conference will be delivered by Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea. Among the speakers there will be Dr Joe Borg, Commissioner, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, European Commission; Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, vice-chairman DP World UAE; and Klaus Ebeling, secretary general, European Intermodal Association (EIA).

The conference will draw together transport professionals involved in the movement of goods throughout the Mediterranean region. Among the matters to be addressed are container trade development, logistics infrastructure, transhipment hubs, port infrastructure, port privatisation and supply chain management.

Other issues include environmentally sustainable transport, trade in the Eastern Mediterranean, intermodal trade, the role of EU policies in the Mediterranean, Med ports and the environment, linking the Mediterranean with North Africa and the Black Sea, and the future of container shipping in the Mediterranean region.

The MedTrade conference should appeal to port/terminal operators, liner operators, shippers, logistics specialists, feeder lines, intermodal operators as well as government and regional planning authorities.

MedTrade will include an exhibition area and there will be ample opportunity to network with the conference delegates and speakers. Exhibitors include port/transport operators, liner operators, equipment and service providers and any company, institution or government body having an interest, or active involvement, in the movement of containers in or around the Mediterranean region.

Speakers include: Dr Essam Sharaf, honorary president of CILT Egypt and former Egyptian Minister of Transport; Marin Hili, chairman, Hili Company Limited, SIA Baltic Container Terminal and Terminal Intermodale Venezia, and chairman and CEO, Mariner SpA; Ammar Kanaan, chairman and general manager, Beirut Container Terminal Consortium/International Port Management; John Dalli, FCCA, MCIM, MP, chairman, John Dalli and Associates; Geraldo Landaluce, development and commercial Director, Port Authority Algeciras Bay; Charles V. Schembri, executive director, Malta Maritime Authority; Giovanni Bandini, marketing and sales manager, Tarros; Colin Rawlins, trade manager Mediterranean/Cross Suez, CSAV Norasia Liner Services; Mike Mundy, maritime consultant; José-Doramas Jorge, senior economist, European Investment Bank; Michel Lyrstrand, research and project manager, TTS Port Equipment; Lawrence Henesey, University adjunct, Department of Systems and Software Engineering, Blekinge Institute of Technology; Dr George Gollan, senior security director and consultant; Alain-Michel Chauvel, quality management director, Bureau Veritas; and Arnold Cassola, Member of the Italian Lower House of Parliament, former secretary general European Green Party (1999-2006).

In association with the Gallozzi Group and SCT, the fifth MedTrade Conference is sponsored by Malta Maritime Authority, Malta Motorways of the Sea, TTS Port Equipment and Port of Algeciras. For more information contact John Portelli at Malta Freeport Terminals Ltd, e-mail john. portelli@maltafreeport.com.mt, tel: 2165-0200.