Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambique’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Manuel José Gonçalves, has since Thursday (24-11) been participating in the 22nd meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Association of Indian Ocean Rim Countries (IORA), in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.
At the meeting, which takes place under the theme of “Harnessing the opportunities of the Indian Ocean sustainably for inclusive development”, the foreign ministers will assist in reviewing current regional socio-economic developments and other issues of importance to IORA.
The IORA Council will also seek to identify and evaluate appropriate strategies capable of contributing to sustainable and balanced development among the association’s member states.
Mozambique’s participation in the IORA Council of Ministers is an opportunity for the country to contribute to efforts to promote cooperation between the countries bordering the Indian Ocean in various fields, with the emphasis on recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and the threat of food insecurity, reads a press release cited by ‘Domingo’.
Bangladesh is the current IORA Chair, and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen is chairing the COM meeting.
Bangladesh assumed the chair of the IORA at the 21st IORA COM Meeting in Dhaka held on Nov. 17, 2021, and adopted the theme of “Harnessing the opportunities of the Indian Ocean sustainably for inclusive development” for its 2021-2023 tenure.
IORA, an intergovernmental organisation established on March 7, 1997, is aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region through its 23 member sates -and 10 dialogue partners.
IORA’s members states are: Commonwealth of Australia, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Union of Comoros, French Republic, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Madagascar, Malaysia, Republic of Maldives, Republic of Mauritius, Republic of Mozambique, Sultanate of Oman, Republic of Seychelles, Republic of Singapore, Federal Republic of Somalia , Republic of South Africa, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, United Republic of Tanzania, Kingdom of Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Republic of Yemen.
IORA’s ten 1dialogue partners are: China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Turkey, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The Council of Ministers (COM) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is preceded by the 24th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) held on Nov. 22-23 this year.
The two-day 24th meeting of the CSO discussed developing a mechanism for adopting big projects, preventing piracy, armed robbery, unregulated fishing and disaster management. Decisions taken at the CSO meeting will be placed in the IORA COM meeting.
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