Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
The Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) originally known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative is an international organization with 18 member states. It was initially established in Mauritius in 1995, and formally launched on March 6th 1997. The Association shares information on trade and investment with the aim of helping the business community in the region develop and overcome any obstacles to trade.
Full members:
Founding member states (March, 1995): Australia, India, Kenya, Mauritius, Oman, Singapore, South Africa
September 1996: Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Yemen
March 1999: (Council of Ministers Meeting in Maputo, Mozambique) Bangladesh, Iran, Seychelles (withdrew as a member on 1 July 2003), Thailand, United Arab Emirates
Dialogue Partners: China, Egypt, France, Japan, United Kingdom
As stated by the IOR-ARC, it's objectives are:
1. To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and Member States
2. To focus on those areas of economic cooperation which provide maximum opportunities for development, shared interest and mutual benefits
3. 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.
The IOR-ARC deputes projects to working groups, namely the Working Group on Trade and Investment (WGTI), the Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF), and the Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG). The Association holds a Council of Ministers meeting once every two years. The working groups have business and academic members to amalgamate different points of view and interests.
India has in the past sought structural changes in the structure of the IOR-ARC. The Ministry of External Affairs stated "It is time that the character of the organisation could be given a re-look for bringing out structural reform in order to move the IOR-ARC actively forward, in view of lack of progress in concrete projects. Areas of common interest that bind the Indian Ocean Rim countries, such as ocean bed exploration, hydrographic survey, disaster management and information sharing, shipping, coastal infrastructure, fisheries, weather forecasting, should be given priority"
