The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has named the full team of regional coordinators who will lead its seven regional presence offices, as the UN agency looks to bring more technical support closer to member states.
The coordinators will cover the Caribbean, East Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, the Pacific, Anglophone West and Central Africa, and Francophone West and Central Africa.
IMO said the offices are designed to ensure support is better aligned with the needs of individual regions, including tailored assistance for least developed countries and small island developing states.
The move forms part of a wider update to IMO’s technical cooperation work. Regional coordinators will now oversee IMO activity across 11 thematic areas, including maritime safety, security, marine environment, climate action, facilitation and trade, law and governance, gender equality, education and training, and compliance under the IMO member state audit scheme.