The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States has been working with the countries of the region in connection with training seminars on advanced transportation policy, technology, and practice, mainly in the area of ports, through its Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP), formerly the Inter-American Port and Harbor Conference (1954-1998).

The primary aim of the Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) is to provide the OAS member states with a permanent inter-American forum for enhanced cooperation in developing the port sector in the Hemisphere, with active private sector participation. It is composed of the delegations of the 34 OAS member states, represented by each government's highest national port sector authority.

The primary functions of the CIP are to act as the foremost adviser to the Organization and its member states on all matters pertaining to port sector development; to propose and promote hemispheric cooperation policies in keeping with guidelines issued by the General Assembly, CIDI, and the Summits of the Americas; and to facilitate and foster the improvement of port sector activities in the Hemisphere. The Committee meets every two years.

In consideration of the national and regional needs of member states, the Inter-American Committee on Ports has adopted a number of activities and projects for implementation during the 2000-2001 biennium. They deal with the enhancement and development of cooperation in the following port sector areas: port reform (privatization); port security; environmental protection; technological developments as they apply to ports; development of ports for cruise vessels; port statistics; tariffs, finance, and economic resources as regards ports; quality assurance and certification (ISO 9000); waterways and navigable routes; dredging; use of the coastline; city-port relations; port-customs relations; and port-related training.

The training of port personnel is a high priority for the OAS Inter-American Committee on Ports. Its programs of action include courses in the various technical areas, which have provided specialized training to a significant contingent of technical and professional port personnel in the Americas. These programs have been based on conventional instruction by experts in each subject, with complementary on-site observation, and have also been offered in the workplace.

In 1999, the CIP organized and carried out the following activities, training a total of 100 port professionals from the Americas:

• Fourth Subregional Course on Port Security, Guayaquil, Ecuador, June 21-25. A total of 58 participants from the following countries attended: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Special recognition goes to experts from the ports of Miami and New York/New Jersey and from the United States Customs Service for their valuable contributions to this event.
• Seminar on Port Reform, Lima, Peru, August 12-13. Training in new techniques and approaches to port privatization employed in the Americas and Europe was given to 32 staff members of the Peruvian National Port Enterprise (ENAPU) and other national port enterprises.
• Fourth Ibero-American Course on Port Management, Madrid, Spain, May 10-June 6. Attended by 20 mid-level port enterprise executives from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The agenda covered aspects of port ownership, port technology and operations, port finance and tariffs, trade relations, and human resources. The course is held yearly, with support from the Public State Ports Enterprise and the Port Foundation of Spain.

The CIP, through its Training Subcommittee, chaired by the United States, has the following port-related activities planned for 2000:

• Fourth Regional Course on Port Security, Saint Lucia, June 26-30, with support from the Port Authority of Saint Lucia and the US MARAD. The 30 attendees will be personnel from the ports of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
• Fifth Ibero-American Course on Port Management, Madrid, Spain, September 11-October 6. The OAS will offer 20 fellowships for port personnel from the region.
• First Ibero-American Course on Port Engineering, Santander, Spain, September 18-October 11. The OAS will offer 20 fellowships for port personnel from the region.
• Seminar on Information Technology, Jacksonville, Florida, United States, one week, date to be determined. The CIP will offer 10 fellowships to personnel from the region.
• Course on Port Security for the Control of Illicit Drug Traffic, with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), to be attended, with fellowships, by representatives of 32 countries in the region. One week. Place and dates to be determined.

This year the CIP has also sponsored the following activities, which have been completed successfully:

• Pilot Course for Port Workers, Barbados, February 28-March 2, organized by the Port Authority of Barbados, with technical support from the International Labour Organization (ILO), attended by 30 representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
• First Ibero-American Conference on Port Technology Exchange, Cancún, Mexico, April 9-14, organized by State Ports and the Port Foundation of Spain, together with the General Directorate of Ports of Mexico, attended by over 300 port sector executives, staff members, and academics from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

With these activities, the OAS Inter-American Committee on Ports has contributed to implementing the Plan of Action of the Ministers of Transportation of the Western Hemisphere.