Congratulations to the World Maritime University's Class of 2008 on their graduation today. I was honored to be the Guest of Honor at their commencement ceremony in Malmo, Sweden. The ceremony was presided over by International Maritime Organization Secretary General Mitropoulos.
This is the 25th Anniversary of WMU. Since its inception WMU has graduated more than 2600 students from 157 different countries. Today's graduating class included 207 students representing 45 countries.
WMU operates under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its charter is to be THE international maritime training institution for the training of senior specialist maritime personnel in various aspects of shipping and related fields concerning the improvement of maritime safety, the protection of the marine environment and the efficiency of international shipping.
Stay tuned for a summary of my remarks to follow...
