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IOR-ARC, IOC get closer
The reciprocal observer status between the Indian Ocean
Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)
and
Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) has been
announced.
IOC President and also the
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Seychelles Jean Paul Adam made the
announcement at the 28th Session of the IOC Council of Ministers
meeting in Seychelles on Jan 17, a media release said.
Senior IOR-ARC officials, including the Chair of the IOR-ARC
Council of Ministers and Minster for External Affairs of India
Salman Khurshid, Vice-Chair and Parliamentary Secretary to the
Australian Foreign Minister, Richard Marles and the Secretary
General of the IOR-ARC Ambassador K V Bhagirath were
present.
The decision to pursue the reciprocal observer status
between the two organisations was taken at the 12th meeting of the
IOR-ARC Council of Ministers, in Gurgaon, India in Nov last year,
the media release said.
The 19-nation group of IOR-ARC was set up in Mauritius in
1997. India is the founding member, while Bangladesh, Australia,
Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania,
Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Seychelles are
member-countries of the organisation.
China, Japan, Egypt, France and Britain have the status of
dialogue partners in the group.
The importance of the Indian Ocean, the world's third
largest ocean, as a trade corridor and energy highway is
"undeniable", as it provides passage to half of the international
container ships and more than 70 percent of crude and oil
shipments.
IOC, started in Jan 1984, is an inter-governmental
organisation that joins Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, France, and
the Seychelles together "to encourage diplomatic as well as
economic cooperation".
The media release said, the IOR-ARC and IOC are sister
organisations and "both are working towards the development of the
region and for the betterment of its respective
communities."
"This collaboration may therefore assist to develop policies
and programmes among the member states in focus areas such as
sustainable development, the enhancement of economic and trade
relations, social, cultural and tourism promotion which would be
mutually beneficial to the member states of both
organisations."
http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/01/19/ior-arc-ioc-get-closer
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