Die Emder Hafenförderungsgesellschaft e. V. (EHFG) freut sich, dass die nächste Nationale Maritime Konferenz (NMK) mit bis zu 800 Teilnehmenden in Emden stattfinden wird. Das Spitzentreffen der deutschen maritimen Wirtschaft kehrt damit nach über 25 Jahren an den Ort seines Entstehens zurück. Denn die erste NMK tagte im Jahr 2000 ebenfalls in der Seehafenstadt – damals allerdings mit 200 Teilnehmenden „Am 29. und 30. April wird der Seehafen Emden im Blickpunkt der bundesweiten maritimen Wirtschaft stehen. Wir werden unseren Gästen zeigen, welche breite Palette an Leistungen wir in Emden beim Umschlag von Gütern und beim Service bieten“, so Timo Siebahn, Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrates der EHFG. 

The Emden port industry would like to thank the city of Emden, led by Mayor Tim Kruithoff, for its strong commitment to hosting the conference in the seaport city through its economic development agency. In doing so, it has sent a clear signal about the economic and social importance of the port. 

“We assume that the federal government will use this conference to specify its support for ports and the maritime industry,” said EHFG board member Reinhard Hegewald. He is referring to the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU, and SPD from this spring, which states in the chapter on the maritime economy: “We will implement the national port strategy with deep-sea and inland ports as a national task and agree on the financing of the measures with the states in the first half of the legislative period.” 

Siebahn and Hegewald firmly believe that the federal government will “deliver” at the NMK at the end of April. After all, Emden and the other seaports have an important macroeconomic role to play. Using the example of the port of Emden, the EHFG sees seaports as key players that are simultaneously affected by the “turning point” (greater military capability) and the “energy transition” (climate targets, wind and hydrogen energy). This applies not only to northern Germany, but to the entire Federal Republic.