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| IOR-ARC Member States IOR-ARC Dialogue Partners |
While so far the IOR ARC has not been as active as it could have been the interest shown in applying as dialogue partners by the US is indicative of the growing importance of the organization.
The last week of October is likely to be a busy one in the national capital for regional cooperation. The 12th Council of Ministers' Meeting (s) of Indian Ocean Rim – Association of Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) will be held in Gurgaon from 29th October to 02nd November 2012. The IOR ARC is an important forum having 19 members to include Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Seychelles, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. There are five dialogue partners including China, Egypt, France, Japan, United Kingdom. Ten Foreign Ministers of the member states have confirmed attendance at the meetings and there are a number of bilateral meetings with India expected as well.
Some of the agenda points for the 12th meeting are likely to be consideration of a change of name and additional dialogue partners. Australia and Indonesia have expressed desire to change name of IOR-ARC and this is likely to be one of the topics that will be discussed but the decision will have to be by consensus. That means, all the 19 members have to agree to the change. There are new observers also who are likely to be considered for induction including the United States which has requested for such a status. While so far the IOR ARC has not been as active as it could have been the interest shown in applying as dialogue partners by the US is indicative of the growing importance of the organization.
As per the IOR ARC website, IOR-ARC was established in Mauritius in March 1997 to promote economic and technical cooperation among countries united by the Indian Ocean. The IOR-ARC aims to create a platform for trade, socio-economic and cultural cooperation in the Indian Ocean rim area. It is a heterogeneous Association, comprising diverse cultural, linguistic and religious groups in the Indian Ocean littoral States.
The Indian Ocean Rim is also said to define a distinctive area in international politics consisting of coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean. It is a region of much diversity, in culture, race, religion, economic development, and strategic interests. The countries vary in the size of their populations, economies, trade, and technological development and in the composition of their GDP. A number of sub-regions are evident, for example Southern and Eastern Africa, Gulf of Aden, Oman Sea, South-Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia. It also includes a number of regional organisations, such as ASEAN, GCC, SAARC, and SADCC.
The Indian Ocean is the world's third largest Ocean. It carries half of the world's container ships, one third of the bulk cargo traffic, two-thirds of the world's oil shipments. It is a lifeline of international trade and economy. The region is linked by trade routes and controls some of the world's busiest sea-lanes. The Indian Ocean Rim constitutes between a quarter and a third of the world's population (close to 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 (EEZ), continental shelves and the deep seabed. Therefore there is a compelling argument in favour of an Association centred around the Indian Ocean Rim. The Association therefore brings together countries of the Indian Ocean littoral, even though they differ greatly in population, territorial extent or the size of their economies.
This Article first appeared on Security Risks and is reposted here under a Creative Commons license.
NOTE: The “Australian Government DFAT” Link in the above was added by PacificSentinel for expanded information.