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PRESS RELEASE - 15th Annual General Meeting of ASCOBIPS

20th May 2004

15th Annual General Meeting of ASCOBIPS (Association of Shippers’ Councils of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, & Sri Lanka) held on 20th & 21st May 2004 and concluded successfully.

Mr. Abdul Rasheed Janmohammad, Chairman Pakistan Shippers’ Council & Mr. Ravindra Samantha Ratnapala, Chairman, Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council was present in this meeting from very inception.

The inaugural Session and the Working Session was presided over by Mr. Ravindra Samantha Ratnapala who was also the Chairman, ASCOBIPS. At the end of Working Session – 1, Chairmanship of ASCOBIPS was handed over to Mr. Ed Farhad Ahamed Akanda, Chairman Shippers’ Council of Bangladesh for the next term.

Mr. John Y. Lu, Chairman, Singapore Shippers’ Council and Chairman, Federation of ASEAN Shippers’ Council (FASC) joined the ASCOBIPS AGM on 21st May 2004 and spoke on the “Global Shippers’ Forum” and the establishment of the Asian Shippers’ Council on which he has been working.

Following important decisions were taken in the 15th ASCOBIPS AGM:

• Preparing strategy for abolition of THC, which is being charged unreasonably from the Shippers’ as a separate surcharge though THC should be included in all inclusive freight.
• Preparing strategy to deal with Freight Forwarders Organizations
• Strategy to compel the Main Line Operators and the Conferences to conform to provisions of UNCTAD Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences while increasing freight.
• To set up a permanent Secretariat of ABCOBIPS at Dhaka which will henceforth coordinate all activities of ASCOBIPS.
• The ASCOBIPS Members attending this 15th AGM at Dhaka unanimously agreed to become founder member of Asian Shippers’ Council, which is under formation.

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