Ambassador Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr presented his credentials to Mr. Kitack Lim, the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) last 22 March 2023.

Ambassador Locsin, Jr expressed his readiness to work for a more robust partnership of the Philippines with the IMO, focusing on the protection and promotion of the rights of seafarers as the shipping industry transitions to a green economy.

The IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships. It is tasked to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented. The Organization consists of an Assembly, a Council, five Committees and a number of Sub-committees that support the work of the main technical committees. The Philippines is the current President of the Assembly, which is the highest Governing Body of the IMO.

Headquartered in London, the IMO was established by means of a Convention adopted under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva on 6 March 1948.