Indian Ocean Rim Association(IORA)

News:Indian Ocean Rim Association ministerial meeting is scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi,UAE.

Facts:

About the IORA meeting:

• The 19th IORA Council of Ministers meeting will be held on November 7 in Abu Dhabi,UAE.
• The theme of the meeting is Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean.
• The United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh will take charge as the new chair and vice-chair of the IORA during the ministerial meeting for the duration of 2019-21.

About IORA:

• The Indian Ocean Rim Association is an inter-governmental organisation which was established in 1997.
• The aim of IORA is to strengthen regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean Region.
• The Association comprises of 22 member states and 9 dialogue partners with Indian Ocean Tourism Organisation and the Indian Ocean Research Group having observer status.
• The Coordinating Secretariat of IORA is located at Ebene,Mauritius.

Member States:

• The members of IORA are India, Australia, Iran, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Singapore, Mauritius, Madagascar, UAE, Yemen, Seychelles, Somalia, Comoros, Maldives and Oman.

Objectives:The objectives of IORA are as follows:

• To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and member states
• To focus on those areas of economic cooperation which provide maximum opportunities for development, shared interest and mutual benefits
• To promote liberalisation, remove impediments and lower barriers towards a freer and enhanced flow of goods, services, investment, and technology within the Indian Ocean rim.