Dr Thomas Bisika Presents Credentials to the International Maritime Organization

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    On 10th July, 2023, His Excellency Dr. Thomas Bisika, Malawi’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, presented Letters of Credence to Mr. Kitack Lim, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Malawi joined IMO in 1989. Despite becoming an IMO member for such a long time, no Malawi diplomatic mission was officially accredited to the organisation. Dr Bisika is, therefore, the first Malawi High Commissioner to present Letters of Credence to IMO, a process which also makes the Malawi High Commission in London serve as the Malawi Permanent Mission to IMO with a fully accredited Permanent Representative.

    Mr. Lim welcomed Malawi to the IMO family and acknowledged that this was the first time that the Government of Malawi had presented Letters of Credence to IMO. He highlighted a recently concluded IMO’s 80th Session of Maritime Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 80), during which the 2023 IMO Strategy for Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction was adopted, which is a blueprint for IMO Member States to address climate change from the maritime sector. He also observed that carbon pricing was key towards unlocking the finance that Malawi can tap into.

    In his remarks, Dr. Bisika conveyed greetings from His Excellency Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, and expressed appreciation for IMO’s support, which included technical, financial and capacity building, even before the submission of Letters of Credence. Dr. Bisika expressed the readiness of the Government of Malawi to deepen cooperation with IMO in areas of capacity building, climate change, maritime legislation and water transport. He then invited Mr. Lim, who is due to retire in December, 2023, to visit Malawi before his retirement.