Seventh Regional Office Opened by IMO in Fiji

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is set to establish its seventh Regional Presence Office (RPO) in Suva, Fiji, following a Memorandum of Understanding signed on March 18 by IMO Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez, and Fiji's Minister for Transport, Ro Filipe Tuisawau.

This new office will cater to the maritime needs and priorities of Pacific Island nations by aligning IMO initiatives with local and regional development strategies. It aims to offer guidance on crucial maritime topics including training, safety, legislation, and environmental concerns. Furthermore, it will enhance direct involvement at the field level in implementing IMO's technical cooperation projects.

Minister Tuisawau expressed, “The IMO Pacific Regional Presence Office provides an opportunity to address critical issues, including the challenge of providing an efficient inter-island shipping service, to ensure the safety of our Pacific people in inter-island shipping. As host of this regional office, Pacific Member States will be assisted in addressing global standards for ships, and compliance issues related to energy efficiency, safety equipment and maintenance of safety systems according to IMO standards.”

The governments of the Pacific Islands have underscored the importance of creating more opportunities within the maritime sector for the youth, including seafarer certification and broader job prospects.

Secretary-General Dominguez remarked, “I welcome this opportunity to enhance the global presence of the IMO as well as our ability to work in step with the Pacific region and Member States. In addition to Fiji as host country, I would like to thank the Governments of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands for their generous financial and in-kind support which has helped make this collaboration a reality.”

The Suva office joins IMO's network of Regional Presence Offices, with a Regional Coordinator at its helm, alongside offices in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; Accra, Ghana; Nairobi, Kenya; Manila, the Philippines; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; and Alexandria, Egypt, serving various regions across the globe.

The Pacific Islands region encompasses 14 IMO Member States, including Australia and New Zealand, with twelve being small island developing States (SIDS), three of which are also classified as least developed countries (LDCs).