On Thursday 25 November, at the General Meeting of the Association Internationale Villes et Ports (AIVP), the Board of Directors elected Mr Edouard Philippe, Mayor of Le Havre, as its new President.
Mr Philippe Matthis, Chief Executive of the Port of Brussels and outgoing President of AIVP, offered his congratulations to his successor.
The new President then officially took up his new role immediately in a brief ceremony. Edouard Philippe thanked Philippe Matthis warmly for his six years of service at the helm of AIVP. Under his leadership, the organisation embarked on a new strategy with a greater emphasis on providing a service to members, and adopted a sustainable development approach in the form of the “AIVP 2030 Agenda”.
Edouard Philippe had the following message: “The task of continuing to build the profile and influence of AIVP, founded 30 years ago in Le Havre, brings with it numerous challenges. With our members, I am committed to convincing local communities and authorities of the importance of active cooperation between Cities and Ports. Building AIVP’s influence will also mean deepening our relations with port cities in Asia and the English-speaking world. Sustainable development issues will also be central to my presidency of the association.
Likewise, I am committed to deepening our discussions about the major port territories that are taking shape on coastlines and rivers. Inspired by ideas from Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, or the United States, I believe these territories have a vital part to play in the management of City-Port relationships.
Building on the work done by Port Centers in numerous City Port territories, under my presidency AIVP will also strive to promote greater awareness of careers in the port sector, about which the general public do not currently know enough.
Finally, I also aim to create an international architectural award in honour of Antoine Rufenacht, my predecessor as Mayor of Le Havre and founder of AIVP. By making port culture part of their planning and development, port cities can be bold and daring. AIVP has a duty to promote that message.”
Edouard Philippe then took part in a round-table on the “energy transition in port cities”, moderated by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities.
Also participating in the round-table were Karima Delli, Member of the European Parliament, Marie Delvaulx, Director of the NGO The Shift, and Mario Cordero, Chairman of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).
The AIVP Board of Directors also appointed Mr Bruno Delsalle as the organisation’s new CEO. Taking over from Olivier Lemaire, who held the position for 34 years, Bruno Delsalle paid tribute to his predecessor. AIVP’s international development owes a huge debt to the hard work and inventiveness of Olivier Lemaire, who is taking richly deserved retirement.Edouard Philippe invites you to Tangier (Morocco) on 11, 12, and 13 May 2022, for AIVP’s forthcoming World Conference.
