More than 60 shipping experts from nine world class ports attended the World Ports Summit at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on Tuesday to discuss port security, safety and environmental protection issues.

The two-day summit, hosted by Hong Kong Marine Department, aims to provide an international forum for world class port authorities to gather together for sharing their experiences and come up with a communique for the reference of the international maritime world.

The nine ports participating in the conference are Shanghai, Shenzhen, Rotterdam, Singapore, Los Angeles, Seattle, Melbourne, Busan and Hong Kong.

Representatives from the Hong Kong Ship Owners Association and the Hong Kong Shipper's Council also attended the event.

According to a press release from the Information Services Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, Hong Kong Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng and the President of China Merchants Group Ltd Yuning Fu will give a keynote speech at Tuesday's session.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 11, 2008)