MoU Renewed with Dirección General de Capitanías y Guardacostas, Peru
On 22 November, the President of WMU, Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry and Vice Admiral Ernesto Colunge, Director of the Dirección General de Capitanías y Guardacostas del Perú (DICAPI), signed the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University and the Peruvian authorities that has been in place since 2000. The signing ceremony was preceded by a discussion on strengthening the cooperation between WMU and the Government of Peru and in particular with the General Directorate of DICAPI. VADM Colunge was accompanied by WMU alumnus (2010), Captain Jesus A. Menacho Pierola, Director of Policies, Regulations and Quality Management for DICAPI.
President Doumbia-Henry welcomed the agreement saying, “Peru is an important maritime country in the Latin American region with its geographical location providing interconnectivity for the maritime transport and global maritime trade. DICAPI and the Government of Peru have maintained a strong commitment to WMU and we are pleased to continue our cooperation under this new agreement.”
VADM Colunge stated, “This MoU reaffirms the commitment and responsibility of the Peruvian Navy, through DICAPI as the National Maritime Authority, to continue with the education of excellence and high specialization in maritime affairs of the Coast Guard Officers, which will benefit the maritime community and, therefore, the Nation.”
The MoU focuses on collaboration between the organizations in maritime safety, security, education, and oceans sustainability, governance and management. It includes provision for the enrolment of Peruvian officers in WMU’s Masters and PhD programmes, the organization of field study visits and conferences in Peru, the conduct of research by WMU on behalf of the Peruvian government, and tailor-made courses to support capacity-building and training, as well as professional development courses to be delivered in Peru and in Malmö.
In 2017, DICAPI hosted the first WMU Regional Alumni Conference entitled Challenges and Opportunities for the Sustainable Development of the Maritime and Port Sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Conference took place from 23 - 25 October in Lima and was the first of its kind in the region aimed at identifying opportunities for networking and further promoting academic and business associations among different stakeholders of the maritime and port industries, international and regional organizations, maritime education institutions, potential fellowship providers and NGOs. The event attracted participants from the global network of alumni of WMU and IMLI from the Americas and to the public.
To date, there are 30 WMU graduates from Peru.
