International Organization for Mediation

Background and preparation work

According to the government of the People's Republic of China, the establishment of IOMed came out its efforts to mediate a dispute between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan that started with Ethiopia's decision in 2011 to begin work on its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.^[1][2][3]

In October 2022, Ma Xinmin, ambassador of the PRC to the Republic of Sudan, and Ali Al-Sadiq Ali, the acting foreign minister of Sudan, held a signing and handover ceremony for the "Joint Statement on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation" at the Sudan Friendship Hall in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.^[4]

In December 2022, the Hong Kong Chief Executive in Council enacted the International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) (Amendment) Bill 2022 in accordance with the International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) Ordinance (Chapter 558) of the Laws of Hong Kong, with the purpose of providing privileges and immunities to the Preparatory Office of IOMed and its associated persons, and to allow Hong Kong to host the organisation itself.^[5] Hong Kong was chosen as the official headquarters due to its bilingual common law framework—Hong Kong is the only jurisdiction in China that follows common law^[6]—and due to the one country, two systems principle, under which Hong Kong has to also work with the civil law of mainland China.^[7][8]

On 16 February 2023, IOMed's Preparatory Office was established with Sun Jin appointed as its director-general^[9][10] and on 17 February 2023, representatives of the signatories of the Joint Statement on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation attended the inauguration ceremony, which Qin Gang, then Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, delivered a video speech.^[11]

In early 2024, it was decided that the headquarters of IOMed is to be located at the Old Wan Chai Police Station.^[12]

Establishment and subsequent memberships

On 30 May 2025, the signing ceremony for the establishment of the organisation was held in Hong Kong at Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.^[13]

On 19 August 2025, the chargé d'affaire of Togo Tchaa Batchassi Gnama signed the IOMed convention in Beijing.^[14]

On 28 August 2025, the ambassador of Myanmar Tin Maung Swe signed the IOMed convention in Beijing.^[15]

On 29 August 2025, the chargé d'affaire of Central African Republic Wilfrid Emery Perks-Buwamba signed the IOMed convention in Beijing.^[16] On the same day, IOMed announced that the convention has entered into force for China, Nicaragua and Venezuela.^[17]

On 18 September 2025, the ambassador of Angola Dalva Maurĺcia Calombo Ringote Allen signed the IOMed convention in Beijing.^[18]

The central office was inaugurated in October 2025.^[19] Thirty-three countries had at that time signed the IOMed convention, with many of them being part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The opening ceremony's speaker, Wang Yi, the minister of foreign affairs, indicated that IOMed wishes for more countries to join as the it grows.^[20][21] Former Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng SC was appointed as the new secretary-general at the ceremony, with the previous secretary-general Sun Jin being re-appointed as deputy secretary general.^[22]