At the opening of this year’s World Ports Conference, IAPH forged a new chapter of collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In a symbolic move immediately following the opening keynote from ADB president Masato Kanda – who referred to ports as ‘lifelines for communities and engines of growth’ – the two organisations signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding. Under the agreement, IAPH and ADB will focus on regional connectivity and integration, port and supply-chain infrastructure development, digitalisation (with a focus on port call optimisation and cyber resilience), and capacity building in modernising sustainable maritime operations. This includes developing an Asia-Pacific IAPH-ADB World Ports Tracker, joint initiatives on port call optimisation and cyber resilience and creating regional workshops to promote multimodal connectivity, harmonised data systems, resilient infrastructure, and innovative financing mechanisms for sustainable port development. IAPH president Jens Meier noted that the agreement underlined the importance of aligning port investment with private capital, capacity building, and the transition to low- and zero-emission operations — ensuring that no country is left behind.
IAPH managing director Patrick Verhoeven, IAPH president Jens Meier, ADB president Masato Kanda and Hideaki Iwasaki, director general Sectors Development 1, ADB
