India and Austria Sign Agreement on Technology Cooperation in the
Shipping and Ports Infrastructure Sector
A Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) on Technology Cooperation in the Shipping and Ports
Infrastructure was signed on 3 October between India and Austria. The MoU was
signed by G. K. Vasan, Minister of Shipping with Mrs. Doris Bures, Austrian
Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation & Technology in New Delhi.
Austria derives its
importance by virtue of its active role in international organizations. With
its central location in the heart of Europe and historical linkages and legacy
with the countries of the region, Austria is also well placed to serve as a
gateway to emerging market economies in Central & East Europe. Cutting edge
technology is Austria's forte in several niche areas of interest to us,
particularly in infrastructure.
Shipping continues to
dominate as the world’s most efficient means of transportation and it is the
endeavour of the Ministry of Shipping to take necessary initiatives to
recognize, reward and promote quality whenever and wherever it is found within
the industry.
New technologies for
implementation of International Ship & Port Security code, use of radio
frequency identification in logistics and transport planning and optical
character recognition in terminals to speed up the processing of containers in
and out are the areas where Austrian expertise could be utilized in India.
Realtime Kinematics (RTK)
measurements of tides and currents for facilitations of berth to berth
navigation in Gulf of Kutch and Gulf of Khambat could be developed with
Austrian expertise.
Since more than 300km of
Danube river in Austria is used for navigation purpose with a well-developed
and regulated inland waterway system their experience and expertise in the
field of Inland Water Transport would be beneficial to the development of
Inland Water Transport in India.
The Minister also hoped
that signing of the MoU will pave way for sharing appropriate know-how,
scientific knowledge and research and development capabilities between the two
countries. It will enable the Indian organizations in the Ports and Shipping
Sectors to acquire latest knowledge and technology etc. from Austria.
[Source: PIB (Planning
Commission) Press Release dated 3rd October 2012]