New public policy priorities, government support and legislation for navigation on inland waterways in Russia, as well as fleet modernisation and waterways infrastructure will be discussed during the conference ‘Russian-Dutch Bilateral Year 2013: the Strategy of Water Transport’. Key speaker during the conference will be Viktor Olersky, deputy Minister of Transport. The conference takes place on September 24, 2013 in pavilion 7 of the Lenexpo in St. Petersburg.
The conference will be co-chaired by Mr. Olersky and Siebe Riedstra, Secretary General of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. Speakers include Mr Konstantin Palnikov (Director of Department of State Policy of Maritime and river transport, Ministry of Transport), Tineke Netelenbos (Chairman Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners), Alexey Klyavin (President National Chamber of Shipping), Arie Kraaijeveld (Chairman Dutch Maritime Network), Alexander Davidenko (Director Rosmorrechflot) and Jeannette Baljeu (Vice-Mayor of Rotterdam, responsible for ports and transport).
The conference will be followed by round table sessions on the subjects: Priorities and Areas of Public Policy; Strategic Dimensions and Growth Factors of River Traffic and Development of Infrastructure of Waterways and Ports.
The goal of the conference and round table sessions is to exchange insights on modern maritime policy, with the involvement of governments as well as leading firms. After the conference, possible ways of further bilateral collaboration will be worked out. According to the Consul General of The Netherlands in St. Petersburg, Jennes de Mol, this conference is a valuable part of the Netherlands-Russian cooperation year: "Maritime affairs have been one of the cornerstones of bilateral co-operation in the past centuries, and will continue to play a vital part in the future."
After the closure of the conference, a network event is hosted by Ambassador Van Dartel and Vice Admiral Borsboom, which will be held on board of the frigate “de Zeven Provinciën” of the Royal Netherlands Navy. This network event starts at 18.00 hrs.
The conference is organized by Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, maritime consultancy Bloem Doze Nienhuis BV and The Consulate General of The Netherlands in St.-Petersburg. It will be sponsored by Royal Dutch Shell, Royal Wagenborg, IHC Merwede, Damen Shipyards, Peters Shipyards, Van Oord, Smit Lamnalco, Dutch Maritime Network and Marin.
