Shanghai is to host the 2006 World Congress of International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association (FIATA) from September 17 to 21, according to a news briefing Wednesday.

 

About 1,200 participants from more than 100 countries and regions are expected to attend the congress. These will include managerial-level staff from big logistics and transportation enterprises and representatives from FIATA headquarters, the United Nations and the European Union.

 

They will touch upon a wide range of issues, including air transportation, customs, public relations, regional cooperation and legal issues.

 

"It is a timely event, which will help raise the level of China's logistics industry and speed up the building of Shanghai into an international shipping center," said Zhou Yupeng, vice mayor of Shanghai.

 

According to Luo Kaifu, head of China International Forwarders Association (CIFA), China currently has over 20,000 freight forwarders companies, 1,600 of which are based in Shanghai.

 

The congress is jointly organized by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Shanghai municipal government.

 

FIATA is the largest non-governmental organization in the field of transportation. It has 97 member countries and about 5,000 individual members. The association has held 79 global congresses in different cities around the globe and the 2006 congress is the first one in Shanghai.

 

Shanghai is the second largest cargo port in the world, with its cargo turnover hitting 379 million tons in 2004. Its container turnover reached 14.55 million tons, ranking the third in the world.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2005)