UBC President, Mr. Per Boedker Andersen, addressed the participants on the occasion of the signing ceremony and endorsement of the MoU at the VIII UBC General Conference, Turku 30 September 2005

Dear Delegates and Participants,

We have just witnessed an important initiative of our cities and ports. The UBC is also responsible for supporting this initiative of the Baltic Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Port and Maritime Policy already for several years. The project NewHansa is an important part of our Agenda 21 Action Programme.

Stockholm has just kindly made an important promise to organise the follow-up conference of the Memorandum in two years, in 2007. This is very important. The signing of this Memorandum is just a start of the process of implementation. Also the UBC will strongly contribute to the follow-up. Our environmental secretariat will monitor the improvements made at the ports and cities, and will report at the Stockholm Conference on Sustainable Ports and Port Cities in 2007. The UBC environmental team will also promote the memorandum and organise gathering of more signatories. The main tool for that is the excellent NewHansa web-site.

Based on the request from the NewHansa project partners, and decided on the proposal of the UBC Commission on Environment, the UBC Executive Board is hereby proposing the Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Port and Maritime Policy in the Baltic Sea to be endorsed by the VIII UBC General Conference.

Let us now endorse this important policy initiative and document made by our active cities and ports!

NOTE: Following UBC President’s address and the proposal of the UBC Executive Board, the Memorandum of Understanding was unanimously endorsed by the VIII General Conference of the Union of the Baltic Cities.