China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, to visit Hong Kong for ceremony
Foreign minister will attend signing ceremony for setting up of world’s first intergovernmental mediation organisation
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, will visit Hong Kong next Friday to attend a ceremony linked to the setting up in the city of the world’s first intergovernmental mediation organisation with the backing of Beijing.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing announced on Tuesday that Wang would attend the signing ceremony of the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation on May 30, along with representatives from nearly 60 countries and around 20 global bodies.
A forum will be held that afternoon to discuss mediation of disputes among countries and those relating to international investments.
Announced in 2022, the International Organisation for Mediation, headquartered in Hong Kong, was designed to leverage the city’s common law heritage and its expertise as a dispute resolution centre to create an intergovernmental platform for resolving disagreements.
Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said senior representatives from countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe, as well as around 20 international organisations including the UN, would attend the signing ceremony.
While Mao did not mention the current geopolitical tensions, she said the new establishment would become the world’s first intergovernmental legal organisation dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation.