Hong Kong Spotlights Mediation
Hong Kong’s port served as the backdrop this week as the International Organization for Mediation, IOMed, opened its first working session from October 15-20, gathering diplomats and legal experts from five continents.
For observers, this gathering marks a significant step in codifying the peaceful resolution of disputes, a concept present in the UN Charter that has long lacked a dedicated institution for tensions between states and private actors in cross-border trade.
Congolese Delegation at the Table
The Congo-Brazzaville participated with a delegation led by Ambassador Guy Nestor Itoua, Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Francophonie, and Congolese Abroad, demonstrating Brazzaville’s intention to remain visible in emerging legal and economic architectures.
Itoua’s agenda blended protocol and pragmatism: following the negotiations shaping IOMed’s statutes and, on the sidelines, assessing the qualifications of candidate for Secretary General Teresa Cheng ahead of the decisive vote scheduled for October 20.
Teresa Cheng Seeks Brazzaville’s Support
Cheng, former Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong, requested a private meeting with the Congolese envoy to solicit Brazzaville’s support for her candidacy, emphasizing that broad geographical legitimacy will be crucial for the organization’s initial credibility.
She was accompanied by Zhou Qian, Director-General of Legal Affairs at the Hong Kong office of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a presence that underscored Beijing’s interest in a leadership profile acceptable to African, Asian, and Latin American members.
Long-Standing Sino-Congolese Relations
According to diplomatic notes shared after the meeting, Ambassador Itoua emphasized “the intensity of the friendship and cooperation uniting the Republic of the Congo and the People’s Republic of China,” a relationship further strengthened by their co-chairmanship of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
The envoy added that Congo’s vote will reflect its commitment to multilateral solutions and its expectation that the new Secretary General maintains an open door to the concerns of developing countries, particularly in infrastructure, energy, and digital trade where mediation often intersects with sovereign priorities.
A Rapidly Evolving Trade Landscape
Commercial considerations were present in the background. Brazzaville views the IOMed platform as a complementary tool to the duty-free access it already enjoys for a wide range of Congolese exports to China, a facility announced under FOCAC.
Officials from the Pointe-Noire port authority state that faster dispute resolution could reduce the cost of transporting manganese, timber, and agribusiness inputs, while investors in Brazzaville’s nascent fintech hub believe predictable mediation will help them attract Asian capital.
IOMed’s Historic Mandate
IOMed was officially established in Hong Kong on May 30, 2025, but the idea of an international mediation body dates back nearly a century to debates within the League of Nations, resurfacing whenever trade conflicts crossed borders.
Unlike arbitration centers that issue binding rulings, IOMed is designed to first offer facilitated dialogue, using mediators