Dhaka, Broadcasting News Corporation: Bangladesh has been elected as a member of International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council for the term 2024-2025 in elections held on Friday 1 December 2023 at the IMO Headquarters in London. Bangladesh secured 128 votes out of 166 Member States present and voting. Bangladesh has won the election in a highly competitive category-C of the IMO Council membership with support of more than two-third of the IMO Members States. This is a clear manifestation of the confidence and trust that the IMO member states and the international maritime community place on Bangladesh as a maritime nation and its policies and actions under the prudent leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Last week, Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK and Permanent Representative to the IMO, Saida Muna Tasneem, was unanimously elected as a Vice President of the 33rd Session of the IMO Assembly. IMO is the only UN specialized body that regulates global shipping standards that affects ship operating flag States, seafarers and maritime safety security and marine pollutions. During its term as a Council member for the period 2024-25, Bangladesh would negotiate its international trade (90% of which is operated by the sea), its maritime ports, transition into green, digitalized and smarter ports, its compliance with the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling and the use of greener fuels by Bangladesh vessel among other critically important issues to Bangladesh’s shipping and maritime industry.