Nicosia: Today sees the third in a series of interviews with candidates to take over the role of secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Voting is set for the end of this month to replace Koji Sekimizu who will step down after four years in the post.
Andreas Chrysostomou, Cyprus’s director of the department of merchant shipping (DMS), is one of six men vying for the United Nations position.
Since 1994 Chrysostomou has spent three quarters of his working time dealing with matters and issues related directly or indirectly with the IMO.
“I believe that these 21 years of experience in the business of a UN body that has established itself as the sole international forum for the improvement of existing and the development of new regulatory frameworks relating to shipping, provides me with the necessary knowledge and expertise to be able to perform the role of the secretary general of the IMO,” he tells Maritime CEO.
At IMO over the years Chrysostomou has served as chairman of the Design and Equipment Subcommittee as well as chairing the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).
“I am confident that I possess the extensive experience and the inter-personal skills necessary for this position,” he says of his candidacy.
The Cypriot describes his top three priorities at IMO as his “ultimate promises”.
These goals are: stewardship, inclusiveness and leveraging peer knowledge.
“I will provide prudent leadership, sound stewardship and effective and constructive motivation to the secretariat,” Chrysostomou says. On inclusiveness, he explains he wants to further improve relations and cooperation between members and associated members and encourage new ones to join the body.
As per his final ‘ultimate promise’, Chrysostomou vows to establish a focus strategy on how to enhance the capacity of the developing countries with specific deliverables towards human and institutional capabilities.
Chrysostomou’s interview follows on from earlier Maritime CEO meetings with two other candidates from Russia and South Korea.
