The IAPH World Ports Conference 2024 in Hamburg closed with an exciting look ahead to next year’s event. Tomohisa Izumi, deputy director general, Ports & Harbors Bureau, Kobe City Government, warmly invited delegates to the city of Kobe, Japan, to attend the 2025 IAPH World Ports Conference on 7-9 October next year. #IAPH2025 marks the 70th year of the association and Kobe was introduced as ‘the city where the idea of IAPH took shape’. Although the creation of IAPH was officially announced in November 1955 in Los Angeles, three years earlier a delegation of international port executives, politicians and academics met at the University of Kobe to explore the idea of an international association for port authorities, on 9-11 October 1952. In Hamburg, delegates were treated to an impressive video showing a vibrant and advanced port city venue ready to host supply chain professionals from across the global supply chain for networking, innovation and debate. More information on #IAPH2025 will be available soon, as IAPH returns to its roots in Kobe to celebrate seven successful decades of operation.