HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is working to complete preparations for the signing ceremony of the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed) in the city on May 30.

Nearly 60 countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, and about 20 international organizations including the United Nations will send senior representatives to attend the signing ceremony for the convention, according to the SAR government.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend the signing ceremony, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.

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A global forum on international mediation will be held in the afternoon to discuss topics such as mediation of disputes among countries and mediation of international investment and commercial disputes.

The government is renovating the Old Wan Chai Police Station, a Grade II-listed historic building on Gloucester Road which was built in 1932, to accommodate the IOMed headquarters.

The renovation, costing HK$460 million ($58.8 million), is set for completion by the middle of this year, with the IOMed expected to begin operations by late this year or early 2026, said Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok.

In 2022, China and nearly 20 like-minded countries jointly initiated IOMed establishment. The negotiations on the convention have successfully concluded and a unanimous consensus has been reached to establish the IOMed headquarters in Hong Kong.

The IOMed will be the world's first intergovernmental international legal organization dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation, and will be an important mechanism for upholding the principles of the Charter of the UN.

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The establishment of the IOMed headquarters in Hong Kong demonstrates the SAR’s unique advantages and opportunities in international mediation, an HKSAR government spokesman said. It is also an important initiative for the city in establishing itself as a center for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region under the National 14th Five-Year Plan with the staunch support of the central government, added the spokesman.

Upon its establishment, the IOMed will provide friendly, flexible, economical and efficient mediation services, thereby building Hong Kong as a capital for international mediation, said the spokesman.