17th meeting Advisory Committee - London

The 17th meeting of the Advisory Committee of the International Mobile Satellite Organisation (IMSO) was held last 15-16 January in London.
 
The meeting's main agenda points included analysis of the 2007 budget and 2006 accounts, issues deriving from the 18th Assembly held last September and preparations for the extraordinary Assembly scheduled for early this coming March. However, financial matters and particularly approval of the 2007 budget took up almost all of the meeting time. Indeed, the budget was the subject of extensive and heated debate within the Committee. The main problem concerned the expected increase over the previous year (more than 30 percent) due largely to the salary package of the new Director elected at the last Assembly, which also approved the conditions for his contract.
 
The Inmarsat company, which currently provides all of IMSO's financing (as per the relevant provisions of the IMSO Convention and the Public Services Agreement (instrument governing relations between IMSO and Inmarsat), indicated that it could not support such a sharp increase. A number of countries also questioned some figures and specifically requested more information and transparency in general. The budget was thus not definitively approved and will have to be debated again at the next Advisory Committee meeting (26-27 February) and perhaps even at the extraordinary Assembly, if the former body is unable to reach a consensus solution.
 
The Committee also very briefly reviewed some aspects of the extraordinary Assembly to be held in March. It particularly recognised that the Director's proposal for the Assembly to approve the provisional application of the amendments decided at the September Assembly is quite sensible, and that the members should promptly begin the necessary internal considerations on this matter, so that they are able to make a relevant decision at the Assembly.
 
The Advisory Committee will next meet on 26-27 February; the extraordinary Assembly will be held this coming 5-6 March.