Sonowal to chair two-day meeting of Maritime State Development Council in Gujarat

New Delhi [India], August 17 : Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal is scheduled to chair the 19th meeting of the Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) scheduled on 18th and 19th August at Kevadia in Gujarat.
As per a press release by the Ports, Shipping and Waterways Ministry, discussions will be focused upon significant issues pertaining to the overall progress of the maritime sector. The meeting will be attended by the Chief Ministers, concerned Senior Ministers of the Coastal States and Administrators of Union Territories (UTs).
The concerned Secretaries and Senior officials of all the nine Coastal States and four UTs will also be present there along with Senior Officials from various Ministries and Departments of the Union Government, the release said.
Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) was constituted in the year 1997. It is an apex advisory body for the development of the maritime sector aimed to ensure the development of Major and Non- Major ports in consultation with State governments.
MSDC was constituted under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways with the Ministers in charge of ports of all Maritime States, Administrators of UTs, Navy, Coast Guard, and representatives from all relevant stakeholders.
MSDC is an apex advisory body for the development of the Maritime sector and aims to ensure the integrated development of Major and non-Major Ports. It was constituted to assess in consultation with State Governments, the future development of existing and new Minor Ports by the respective Maritime States either directly or through captive users and private participation.
Further, MSDC also monitors the development of minor ports, captive ports and private ports in the Maritime States with a view to ensure their integrated development with Major Ports and to assess the requirements of other infrastructure requirements like roads/rail/IWT and making suitable recommendations to the concerned Ministers.
The Ministry said that the Council, in this meeting, will discuss upon the various development agendas related to the implementation of Sagarmala Programme; the Development of National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC), Lothal, Gujarat; Development of National Waterways; Challenges and opportunities for promotion of RoPax/ Ferries; Urban Passenger Waterways Transportation; Road & Rail port connectivity; Success stories of Coastal States and Union Territories and Issues or Challenges faced by State Maritime Boards, the press release mentioned.
A coordination meeting on the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 (GMIS 2023) and Maritime Excellence Achievers will also be held with senior officials of all Coastal States and UTs to discuss about their planning for participation in the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 which is scheduled to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from October 17-19, the release said.
GMIS 2023 is a premier maritime sector-focused event to bring together pivotal figures from the industry to explore opportunities, understand challenges, and stimulate investment within India's maritime sector. Building upon the legacy of its preceding editions of 2016 and 2021, this third edition of the summit aims to unveil broader prospects for domestic and international maritime stakeholders and investors.
More than 100 countries and a number of delegates from them are expected to participate in the Summit with exhibitors and investors from various domains of the maritime sector.