Working Group of Heads of Mission of IOR-ARC to meet in Pretoria on May 23

TEHRAN,May 22(MNA) – In a recent press release, the Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation announced that the 14th Session of the Meeting of the Working Group of Heads of Missions of the IOR-ARC will be held at the India House, in Pretoria, South Africa, on May 23. The IOR-ARC, which is the only pan-Indian Ocean grouping, has 20 members, namely Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. And there are six dialogue partners, namely China, Egypt, France, Japan, and Britain, and the United States, and two observers, namely, the Indian Ocean Research Group and the Indian Ocean Tourism Organization. Following is the text of the press release: The IOR-ARC Secretariat wishes to inform that the 14 Session of the Meeting of the Working Group of Heads of Missions (WGHM) of the IOR-ARC will be held at the India House, in Pretoria, South Africa on 23 May 2013. The High Commissioner of India in South Africa H.E. High Commissioner Mr. Virendra Gupta will chair the meeting in the capacity as Chair of the IOR-ARC. The WGHM regularly meets to review the work program presented by the Chair of the Council of Ministers and act as a follow-up mechanism to focus on issues directly referred to the WGHM by the Committee of Senior Officials and the Council of Ministers of the IOR-ARC. The decision to establish the WGHM was taken at the Council of Ministers meeting of the IOR-ARC in Tehran, Iran in February 2006, where it was decided that a Working Group consisting of Heads of Diplomatic Missions of Member States based in Pretoria, be created in order to review the periodic work program presented by the Chair of the Council, and to fast track the agenda of the IOR-ARC. The main focus of this Working Group is to identify project proposals that are feasible for implementation and to develop mechanisms to monitor the progress of existing projects. South Africa’s capital city, Pretoria, is the only Member State’s capital that houses all IOR-ARC Member State representatives and was therefore considered as an appropriate venue for the Working Group Meetings to take place. The first WGHM met in May 2006 in Pretoria. At that time the South African Deputy Foreign Minister Sue Van der Merwe and H.E. Mr. Alireza Sheik Attar, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Co-operation from the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was the then Chair of IOR-ARC, attended the meeting. Also in attendance at the inaugural IOR-ARC Working Group meeting, was the then Executive Director of the IOR-ARC Coordinating Secretariat based in Mauritius, Mr. Tuan Zarook Samsudeen. Since its formation the WGHM has played an important role and has been a platform where important issues were recommended to the Council of Ministers. By example the following issues were initiated by the WGHM: - A Working Paper for the setting up of a Governing Committee on the basis of its Sub-Committee Report on arrangements for Special Fund disbursements - The four year cycle Plan of Action in the work program of the Association - The Mechanism for Engagement with Dialogue Partners in IOR-ARC Projects This Working Group has an important role to play regarding its responsibility in carrying forward not only the monitoring of progress and speedy implementation of projects and programs of the Association, but also to contribute to fulfilling, in the spirit of multilateralism, the Association’s founding ideals of increased cooperation and shared benefits to all.