Valenciaport hosts port management course for 33 Latin American professionals

The Port Authority of Valencia (APV) has hosted the Modern Port Management Course, an initiative developed within the framework of the TrainForTrade Port Management Program of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The training took place between June 29 and July 10 at Valenciaport's facilities and brought together 33 port professionals from Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. The closing ceremony was attended by the Secretary General of Puertos del Estado, Clara de la Calle, the President of the APV, Mar Chao, and representatives from the port authorities of Cartagena, Gijón, and Las Palmas.

The course was aimed at managers, area managers, and senior staff from the port communities of Spanish-speaking countries, both from the public and private sectors. All of them have extensive professional experience in commercial, technical, administrative, economic, customs, or port management-related activities.

The initiative aimed to update knowledge, establish the basis for the subsequent dissemination of content in the port communities of the participating countries, strengthen networking, and facilitate the incorporation of new members into the TrainForTrade Port Management Program.

A broad representation of the port sector

Among the public institutions represented were organizations and port authorities such as the Secretariat of Fisheries of Argentina; the management consortia of Puerto Quequén and the Port of Bahía Blanca; the National Agency of Ports and Navigation of Argentina; Puerto Comodoro Rivadavia; the National Port Company Santo Tomás de Castilla of Guatemala; the National Port Commission of Guatemala; the Superintendence of Tax Administration of Guatemala; the Quetzal Port Company; the Secretariat of the Navy of Mexico; the Administration of the Lázaro Cárdenas National Port System; the Maritime Authority of Panama, and the National Port Authority of Peru.

Representatives from the Organization of American States and various entities linked to foreign trade and maritime-port activity also participated.

From the private sector, the training included professionals from Puerto Jennefer, the American Association of Port Authorities for Latin America and the Caribbean, Livingston International, the Association of Shipowners of Guatemala, Trabajos Marítimos S.A., GMS Consulting, SACO Shipping, Agencias Navieras Rannik, and various non-governmental organizations related to the port sector.

This combination of public and private profiles responds to the collaborative model promoted by UNCTAD's Port Management Program, based on the creation of international networks, the exchange of experiences, and the joint search for value-added solutions for port communities.

An international network of port knowledge

UNCTAD's Port Management Program is structured through the Spanish-speaking Network, which was established in Valencia in 2008, and in which the APV is a key partner through the signing of the corresponding memoranda of understanding. The latest of these agreements was signed in 2024 by Valenciaport, Puertos del Estado, and UNCTAD, and is valid until the end of 2027.

Among the other Spanish port authorities participating in the project are Gijón, which, like Valencia, has been involved since its inception, and Las Palmas and Cartagena have recently joined.

The methodology of this program, a result of public-private collaboration, promotes the exchange of knowledge and experiences, the use of information and communication technologies, and the generation of innovative solutions that contribute to improving the competitiveness, sustainability, and adaptability of port communities. With the celebration of this course, the Port Authority of Valencia reinforces its commitment to international cooperation and to the training of professionals responsible for managing and transforming Latin American ports.