12:47 PM Thu 16 Jul 2009 GMT
A meeting last week in Stresa, Lake Maggiore, of the Presidents of marine motorsports' most influential bodies, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), the World Professional Powerboating Association, (WPPA) and the International Offshore Team Association, (IOTA), has signalled a new era of increased cooperation between the sports.
The meeting, called by Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, President of the UIM on behalf of the UIM Council, was aimed at clarifying roles and responsibilities, with Dr. Chiulli stressing that he is the President of a 'new' UIM, a UIM that is open, approachable and will listen and act for the benefit of the sport. He said that this has not often been the case in the past; his comments were warmly welcomed by Saeed Hareb, President of the WPPA and Sheikh Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani, President of IOTA.
In response, Hareb expressed his hope that this would mean that the UIM would also realise the contribution to the sport that the Middle East has made and called for assurances that the Middle East would not be ignored in the future as it had been in the past, which had resulted in the formation of the WPPA under his leadership.
Dr. Chiulli assured him that the cooperation will be strengthened and that the WPPA and IOTA are important partners of the UIM. Hareb offered him his full support and announced the withdrawal of his nomination for the UIM Presidency. 'I have known Raffaele Chiulli since 1990 and I am sure he will make all the necessary changes. I also trust that he will pay attention to our region and the value our region adds to the sport,' said Hareb after the meeting.
As a further step of cooperation, it was agreed that a Class 1 Management Committee composed of the Presidents of the UIM, WPPA and IOTA and a Working Group composed of Sid Bensalah, (WPPA General Secretary), Marco Sala, (IOTA General Secretary) and Per Benson (UIM Cominoff President.) will be set up, with the Working Group submitting any proposals to the Class 1 Management Committee before implementation.
The first meeting of the Working Group will be held in Arendal, Norway on Friday 17 July.
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by Class-1 media
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