Indian Ocean Rim nations to meet Monday in Gurgaon

GURGAON, India,Oct.29(MNA) - The 12th meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) will begin at Oberoi Hotel in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, on October 29 and will close on November 2. According to Hindustan Times, delegates from 19 countries will attend the event, and around 100 delegates, including foreign ministers, ambassadors, and media representatives are expected to take part in the meeting. Indian External Affairs Ministry Secretary Sudhir Vyas had previously said that the motive behind the meet was to showcase Gurgaon, which acts as perfect complement to the national capital, Hindustan Times reported. “We have to showcase India as an economic superpower,” he said at the time. According to Voice of India, IOR-ARC was established in Mauritius in March 1997 with the aim of promoting economic and technical cooperation. IOR-ARC is the only pan-Indian ocean grouping. It brings together countries from three continents having different sizes, economic strengths, and a wide diversity of languages and cultures. It aims to create a platform for trade, socio-economic, and cultural cooperation in the Indian Ocean rim area, which constitutes a population of about two billion people. The Indian Ocean Rim is rich in strategic and precious minerals, metals, and other natural resources, marine resources and energy, all of which can be sourced from Exclusive Economic Zones, continental shelves, and the deep seabed. Presently, it has 19 members, namely Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. There are five dialogue partners, namely China, Egypt, France, Japan, and Britain and two observers, namely, the Indian Ocean Research Group and the Indian Ocean Tourism Organization. The highest authority of the association rests with the Council of (Foreign) Ministers (COM), which meets annually or more often as mutually decided. The COM formulates policy, reviews progress on cooperation, makes decisions on new areas of cooperation and on the establishment of additional mechanisms and specialized agencies and decisions on matters of general interest. The Council of Ministers elects a chair and vice chair of the association for a period of two years, respectively. The 11th meeting of the COM was held in Bengaluru, India, on November 15, 2011, during which India assumed the chair of IOR-ARC and Australia assumed the vice chair, Voice of India reported. The 12th IOR-ARC Council of Ministers meeting will take place on November 2. According to Voice of India, this would be the second Council of Ministers Meeting of IOR-ARC under India’s chairmanship and would provide an opportunity to take stock of the progress that the association has made since the meeting in Bengaluru and explore future directions and initiatives that can serve the common interests of the group. The Council of Ministers meeting will be preceded by meetings between academics, business, and senior officials.