During the week of Oct. 19, the Port of South Louisiana hosted two delegations from South Africa and South Asia.

The trips were sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program and the U.S. Department of Commerce, respectively.

The main objective of the delegations’ visits were to familiarize their representatives with U.S., state and local programs that promote trade, investment and best practices to help attract larger portions of domestic and foreign resources to their respective regions, thus increasing their advantage in world commerce.

During each session, Port of South Louisiana representatives, including Executive Director Paul Aucoin, addressed areas of interest to the participants, including the role of state and local government and their relationship with private businesses in support of economic development and international trade, the development of future partnerships to increase trade and business between the U.S. corporations and their respective countries, and to observe and discuss port operations and policies to enhance exports and imports.

The group from South Africa was comprised of maritime leaders and educators based out of Durban, the largest city in the South African province of ZwaZulu-Natai.

The Transnet National Ports Authority provides port infrastructure and marine services at eight commercial seaports in South Africa. Its affiliated Maritime School of Excellence is an accredited training institution of the South African Maritime Safety Authority.

It offers marine training programs to provide the necessary skills for the Transnet Port Terminals and Transnet National Ports Authority. This delegation was particularly interested in learning about the latest technology in transportation and logistics, successful management/business policies (i.e., best practice strategies), and equipment and storage specifications.

The group from South Asia was represented by port officials (operation managers, harbor masters, chief executive and operating officers, consultants, etc.), both from the public and private sectors, from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

In addition to topics covered with the South African delegation, the South Asian group was also interested in gathering information about the Port’s public terminal and Globalplex Intermodal Terminal, and they were interested in the relationship and structure of agreements between the port and its terminal operator.

Paul Aucoin is executive director of the Port of South Louisiana. For more information, call 985-652-9278.