More than 60 global shipping experts are gathering in Hong Kong for the World Ports Summit which opened on Tuesday.

The two-day meeting provides an international forum for port authorities to share their experiences, and the experts will discuss port security, safety and environmental protection issues.

The nine participating ports are Shanghai, Shenzhen, Rotterdam, Singapore, Los Angeles, Seattle, Melbourne, Busan and Hong Kong.

The meeting was hosted by the Marine Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 12, 2008)