Visit of the delegation of the Danube Commission on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Port Governance Agency of Serbia
On April 20-21 2023, a delegation of the Danube Commission, led by Director General Mr. Manfred Seitz went on an official trip to Belgrade, meeting high level officials in the field of water transport and participating in the 10th anniversary of the Port Governance Agency of Serbia.
The DC delegation had, on Thursday, bilateral meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and the Directorate for Inland Waterways.
The Serbian Minister expressed his hope that investments by Republic of Serbia in recent years directed towards the development of river infrastructure shall be recognized as a positive approach to the further development of infrastructure, improvement of navigation conditions and the development of tourism on the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
Mr. M Seitz emphasized the importance of the work of the Directorate for Inland Waterways, a leader in innovation, modernization and development of international waterways in both Serbia and in Europe. He also stressed the importance of the Directorate as partner and participant in international projects of interstate and international importance for the navigation on the European rivers.
As part of the visit, the DC delegation had the opportunity to visit the RIS center of the Directorate for Inland Waterways and familiarize with the vessel tracking system as well as other software solutions that the Directorate has developed in previous years.
April 21 marked the ten-year anniversary of the Port Governance Agency with a conference organized at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. The event was attended by the Minister of Construction and Transport, the General Director of the Secretariat of the Danube Commission, the Director of the Transport Community, as well as representatives of the economy, municipalities, districts, and state institutions.
The PGA provides professional assistance in the planning, construction and implementation of projects in the port area, open to initiatives, suggestions, and dialogue with participants in water transport community. The Director of the Transport Community Secretariat praised Serbia’s efforts in the area of improving river transport and reminded of the plans for further inclusion of Serbian ports in the TEN-T network, stressing that this is a task of the highest priority.
On this occasion, the General Director of the Secretariat of the Danube Commission, presented a special medal to the Port Governance Agency for its contribution to the development of the port sector. During the working part of the ceremony, the activities in the ports of the Republic of Serbia in 2022 were presented, with an introductory speech of Mr. Dejan Trifunović, Counsellor at the DC Secretariat. According to the data evaluated so far, 15.3 million tons of cargo handled will be recorded in 2022. The results of last year’s shipping season indicate a recovery in the cruise industry, which recorded 1,419 arrivals and 135,251 passengers in Serbia’s international passenger ports.
