8TH INDIAN OCEAN DIALOGUE- HIGHLIGHTS
Key Facts
- The dialogue was jointly hosted by External Affairs Ministry and Indian Council of World Affairs. Dialogue was hosted under the theme- “Leveraging Digital Technologies for Health, Education, Development, and Trade in Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Member States”.
Highlights of the address
- During the dialogue, Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh noted the need of greater collaboration among IORA Member States in order to recover from pandemic.
- He also highlighted the critical role of new and emerging technologies and re-affirmed India’s readiness to collaborate on it.
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
- IORA was formerly known as Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) and Indian Ocean Rim Initiative.
- It is an international organisation comprising of 23 states which share borders with the Indian Ocean.
- It is a regional forum, tripartite in nature. It brings together representatives of Government, Academia and Business to promote co-operation and closer interaction between them.
Principles of IORA
- IORA is based on the principles of Open Regionalism to strengthen Economic Cooperation, especially on Trade Facilitation & Investment, Promotion and Social Development of the region.
Secretariat of IORA
- Coordinating Secretariat of IORA is situated at Ebene in Mauritius.
History of IORA
- IORA was first established in March 1995, as Indian Ocean Rim Initiative. It was formally launched in March 1997 with the conclusion of a multilateral treaty called “Charter of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation”.