23 June 2015 – The Philippines' Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) Administrator Dr. Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr. visited Brazil from June 14 to 15 to meet with Brazilian officials in connection with his candidature for the post of Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN specialized agency tasked to provide safety and security to the world`s shipping and seaborne trade, protect the marine environment and promote the rights and welfare of all seafarers.

Dr. Mejia has more than 30 years of experience in the maritime industry and was a former Professor at the World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmo, Sweden. He has been visiting the IMO Council Members in recent months and the visit to Brazil was part of the last leg of his campaign prior to the elections to be held during the 114th Session of the IMO Council on June 29 to July 03 in London.

He met with the Coordinating Committee of IMO Affairs (CCAIMO) headed by Vice Admiral Glauco Castilho Dall'Antonia and Minister (Chief of Mission) Raphael Azeredo of the Ministry of External Affairs of Brazil to present his candidature.

Should Dr. Meija succeed in his campaign, he would be only the second representative from a developing country to sit at the helm of the IMO in the past 60 years, apart from Chandrika Prasad Srivastava of India, who served from 1974 to 1989. END