[ The Meeting Between KSA and JSA held to Exchange… ]

The Meeting Between KSA and JSA held to Exchange their Views.
The 6th regular meeting between Korea Shipowners’ Association and Japan
Shipowners’ Association was held in Onuma, Japan on 4th and 5th October.
The objective of this 6th meeting is to explore some possible ways and
means of establishing new shipping priorities to take account of the
changing political and economic environment following the end of cold
war and improve a spirit of friendliness and cooperation which had been
built up between both nations over the past five meetings since 1988
.
The joint statements of this meeting are as follows:
In the expectation that future world trade would be further expanded
following the establishment of the WTO, which was concluded in the GATT
Uruguay Round last December, both presidents, Cho sang-wook of KSA and
Susumu Temporin of JSA, recongnised that in the next century Asian
region would become leaders of world economic growth and that the two
countries should play their major roles in this growth as equal partners.
They also emphasized the need to further consolidate the friendship and
cooperation established between the shipping circles of the two
countries.
Both sides exchanged candid views on their government’s maritime poli-
cies as well as those of the US and the EU, in relation to their mutual
desire for co-prosperity and co-existence based on free and fair com-
petition.
They reviewed the result at the 3rd Asian Shipowner’ Forum (ASF) held
in Beijing in May 1994 and held a wide ranging and constructive dis-
cussion on ASF’s current ‘5S’ issues, namely Stabilization of trade,
Seamen, Safe Navigation, Scrapping and Ship Insurance. They discussed
the furture of the ASF and how best to support its activities.
The dialogue between the OECD and the maritime authorities of Asian count-
ries held in 1991 and 1994, was judged very significant and valuable.
The Japanese side expressed positive support for the Korean side’s
wish to become an OECD member by the end of 1996. Both sides also started
their sincere hope that the liberalisation of maritime transport
services would be further accerated at a global level through substantial
negotiations under the framework of the newly extablished NGMTS(Negotia-
ting Group on Maritime Transport Service) by the end of 1990, follo-
wing the completion of the GATT Uruguay Round.
Both sides exchanged views on EU shipping competition legislation inclu-
ding consortia draft regulations, and they expressed their grave concern
over the European Commission’s attitude toward the international
shipping industry, as well as their strong hope that in future EU regula-
tions would reflect the Commercial reality of shipping management. The
two countries also started their serious concern over the US maritime
subsidy bill, which includes an increase of tonnage tax to provide
funds for strengthening the competitiveness of the US merchant fleet.
They came to a consensus that both side should keep a close watch on this
matter following the efforts they already made to oppose the legislation.
The Korean side expressed their sincere gratitude to the Japanese side
for preparing and arranging the meeting in Onuma, and for affording the
oppotunity for their delegation to visit Japan. Both sides reaffirmed
that their close relationship should be maintained and strengthened
through an exchange of personnel and by further extension of the range
of materials and information to be shared in the years ahead.