The Dublin Port Company has been chosen to head a United Nations programme to aid poorer countries in developing their port communities.
A major three-day UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which began in Dublin Castle today will unveil an international training and co-operation network of English-speaking port communities in developing countries.
To deliver the TrainForTrade Port Training Programme, Dublin Port Company has been named the UN's English-speaking partner in delivering training to ports in developing countries.
The meeting, which is supported by Dublin Port Company in association with Irish Aid, will be attended by delegates from over 20 countries from Asia and Africa including Ghana, Sierra Leone, Benin, Maldives, Namibia, India and Cambodia.
"Maritime transport and port services are vital for the economies of countries and have considerable influence on the volume and conditions of trade," a spokesperson for the UNCTAD said.
Requests for assistance from English-language countries follow the success of UNCTAD projects for African French-speaking and Portuguese-speaking port communities.
Over 500 port operators, 17 per cent of them women, have been trained in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.
Some 22 "training of trainers" sessions have been organised in these countries, and the participants are now serving as trainers in their port communities.