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s the only really cost-effective way to transport the vast majority of international trade, shipping will be central to sustainable global development and growth in the future. A safe, secure, clean and efficient international shipping industry is indispensable to the modern world. Governments all over the world have an obligation to create a regulatory framework that allows that to happen.IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, created by governments to enable them to do this. At IMO, the world’s governments come together to turn that obligation into something more tangible. They turn it into a regulatory imperative. They take the broad-based yet unspecific agreement that ‘something must be done’ as a starting point and turn it into a set of understandable, achievable and effective regulations that set out, very specifically, ‘what must be done.’IMO’s overall mission is to promote safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient and sustainable shipping. We do this in two ways. First, we develop and adopt a global regulatory regime for shipping that embraces the highest practicable standards of maritime safety and security, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of pollution from ships.And, second, we back this up with an extensive programme of technical assistance and capacity building, to ensure that, once adopted, the standards can be implemented evenly and effectively.This framework of global standards and regulations, developed by governments at IMO, enables shipping to operate safely, securely, cleanly and efficiently. And it is the Member States, supported by the industry, who are ultimately responsible for implementing IMO measures. For IMO, 2016 was another year of considerable progress on many key areas of our work. Among the KITACK LIM, SECRETARY-GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION (IMO)CONNECTING SHIPS, PORTS AND PEOPLE TO PROMOTE DEVELOPMENTBelow: Shipping and ports can play a significant role in helping to create conditions for increased employment, prosperity and stability.APicture Credit: IMO082 TRADE