In a landmark diplomatic gathering held on November 6, 2026, Haiti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Raina Forbin traveled to the London headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to meet with the UN specialized agency’s Secretary-General Arsenio Antonio Domínguez Velasco, where she formally submitted Haiti’s official instruments of accession to 10 core global maritime regulatory frameworks. The Haitian delegation was joined by Anaïse Manuel, the country’s resident Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Permanent Representative to the IMO, for the official deposition ceremony. The 10 conventions span every critical pillar of global maritime governance: standardized navigation safety protocols, binding marine pollution prevention rules, coordinated ocean environmental protection mandates, cross-border maritime search and rescue coordination systems, and clear legal mechanisms for liability and financial compensation following incidents that cause harm from commercial maritime operations. Haitian government officials framed the accession as a pivotal milestone that formalizes the nation’s long-term commitment to collaborative international maritime governance, while bringing its domestic national maritime legal code fully in line with widely accepted global industry standards. The policy shift also underscores Port-au-Prince’s explicit goal of building a more secure, transparently regulated domestic maritime sector that can seamlessly integrate into global supply chains and international trade networks. In separate bilateral discussions following the formal deposition, Minister Forbin submitted a formal request to IMO leadership to scale up the agency’s targeted technical cooperation and capacity-building programs for Haitian maritime authorities. She also held a dedicated working session with Caroline Neumann, the IMO’s lead official for Member State compliance audits, to map out follow-up actions for previously issued audit recommendations and identify tailored technical support resources the UN body can deploy to support Haiti’s regulatory upgrade efforts. Haitian economic policy advisors note that full alignment with these international maritime conventions is a strategic long-term investment that will unlock major improvements to the country’s coastal and international maritime connectivity, and unlock the largely untapped economic potential of the nation’s maritime sector to drive expanded trade flows, attract new foreign direct investment, create thousands of formal local jobs, and accelerate broad-based national economic growth.
Maritime Domain : Haiti deposits instruments of accession to ten international conventions
