Chennai port, Belgium sign MoU

"Belgium is working towards getting an agreement between the ports of Zeebrugge in Belgium and the port of Chennai as part of its efforts to take part in the development of Indian ports," Joren Vandeweyer, spokesperson for the Belgian secretary of state for Foreign Trade, Pieter De Crem said.

“Zeebrugge had an agreement with the Chennai port earlier. We want to strengthen the relations between our ports. We can tie up in the fields of technical assistance, management of ports, developing of a port and so on,” Joren added.

A press release issued here to this effect says that earlier, in 1997 the two ports signed an MoU with the intention of cooperating in various fields related to maritime transportation and port development and working together as sister ports.

The co-operation extended to all aspects of port activity and transfer of technology between the two ports.

According to the release, the fresh MoU is expected to enlarge the scope of cooperation between the two ports and enable active interaction between the management and personnel of the two ports for their mutual benefits.

“We want to continue our relationship with the port of Zeebrugge and revive the earlier agreement. There are possibilities in dredging. We are looking to cooperate in knowledge sharing, technical expertise and training,” M.A. Bhaskarachar, Chairman, Chennai Port, said.