INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION: MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE 2022-2023 BIENNIUM.

The Council is the executive organ of IMO responsible to the Assembly for the supervision of the work of IMO and performs all the functions of the Assembly except that of making recommendations to Governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention.

For the 2022-2023 biennium, the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization has elected 40 States to be Members of its Council, according to the following organizational structure:

• In Category A, 10 States with the largest interests in the provision of international maritime services, which are:  China, United States, Russian Federation, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Panama, United Kingdom and Republic of Korea.
   
• In Category B, the 10 States with the greatest interests in international maritime trade are Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
   
• In Category C, there are 20 states with special interests in shipping or shipping and whose integration in the Council ensures representation of all the major geographical regions of the world, these are: Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and Vanuatu.

The 40-nation Council met for the first time on December 15, 2021, during the 126th session of the Assembly, to elect the Chairman who will lead the Council during the current biennium. The position went to Víctor Jiménez Fernández, representative of Spain, who was elected with 24 of the 40 possible votes, beating the candidacies for the presidency presented by Malaysia and Vanuatu.

It is important to highlight the participation of Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Panama, 4 Latin American countries that are part of the current IMO Council. In this regard, Elvia Bustavino, President of Red MAMLa, expressed that: "... it is a source of pride to know that Latin America is represented in the Council for the 2022-2023 biennium and that it will actively participate in the work that the IMO will conduct in favor of the development of the maritime port sector. My sincere congratulations to the 4 Member States that have been elected".

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