Santiago Garcia-Milà re-elected President of IAPH

The Deputy General Manager for Strategy and Commercial of the Port of Barcelona will preside the main global port industry organisation for a third term

Santiago Garcia-Milà, Deputy General Manager for Strategy and Commercial of the Port of Barcelona, was today re-elected President of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) for the third consecutive term, at the close of the 32nd Annual Conference of the organisation held in Guangzhou (China) from 6 to 10 May.

Mr Garcia-Milà, who has presided over the organisation for the past four years, has a long track record in the organisation and was IAPH Vice President from 2009 to 2014, when he was elected president for the first time. 

For this very reason, it is worth underlining that it is important for the Port of Barcelona to have access to the governing bodies of this non-governmental association, since this forum is the only internationally recognised spokesperson for the port industry worldwide. In this regard, Mr Garcia-Milà stressed the leading role of the Port of Barcelona in terms of economic, social and environmental sustainability as a key factor for port development.

The appointment took place within the Annual IAPH Conference which brought together more than 1,000 delegates from 50 countries. During the opening ceremony, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim underscored the important role that ports play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions: "Ports will be key in providing alternative fuel supply infrastructures for maritime propulsion to achieve the ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets.”

At this year’s event, attendees took a deeper look at the key issues affecting global maritime trade, such as the New Silk Road (Chinese Belt and Road Initiative), the challenges of sustainable development and the impact of digitisation in ports. Specifically, this meeting was also an opportunity to get to know the Chinese perspective on the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on the ports as well as the influence of disruptive technologies on trade and ports.

The IAPH is committed to sustainability

This year's World Port Conference was attended by over 1,000 practitioners from the sector coming from 50 countries.The IAPH is the global port organisation created in 1955 and is based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit global alliance of 170 ports and 140 port-related organisations covering 90 countries on the 5 continents, whose activity accounts for about 80% of global container traffic and more than 60% of total traffic in tonnage terms.

During the past year, the IAPH created the World Ports Sustainability Programme (PSP) in line with the 17 United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to pool efforts in the area of sustainability.