The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is opening a regional presence office (RPO) in Suva, Fiji, to serve countries and territories in the Pacific Islands region.
The RPO will support the maritime needs and priorities of countries in the region, aligning IMO actions with national and regional development policies, while providing advice on key maritime issues such as training, safety and security, legislation and marine environment.
Minister for public works, meteorological services and transport for the Republic of Fiji, Ro Filipe Tuisawau, said: “The IMO Pacific RPO 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.”
There are 14 IMO member states in the Pacific Islands region, including Australia and New Zealand. 12 of them are small island developing States (SIDS), three of which are categorised as least developed countries (LDCs).
The office in Suva will be IMO’s seventh RPO. It will complement existing offices in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast for West and Central Africa; Accra, Ghana for West and Central Africa; Nairobi, Kenya for Eastern and Southern Africa; Manila, the Philippines for East Asia; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago for the Caribbean; and Alexandria, Egypt for the Middle East and North Africa.
