Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation

IOR-ARC is Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) is an association of 20 member countries. The group came into being in March 1995 in Mauritius. Through it pass some of the most important energy transport routes from Middle East to South-East and East Asia, and securing these routes has become a global priority.

The IOR-ARC, which is the only pan-Indian ocean grouping, has 20 members viz. Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. And there are six dialogue partners, namely China, Egypt, France, Japan, and Britain, and the United States, and two observers, namely, the Indian Ocean Research Group and the Indian Ocean Tourism Organization.

Objectives of IOR-ARC:

• To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and Member States
• To focus on those areas of economic cooperation which provide maximum opportunities for development, shared interest and mutual benefits
• To promote liberalization, remove impediments and lower barriers towards a freer and enhanced flow of goods, services, investment, and technology within the Indian Ocean rim.

The Council of Ministers of the IOR-ARC held a meeting in November 2013 in Perth, Australia’s Indian Ocean capital. At this meeting, Australia took over as Chair of the Association from India, which has been Chair since 2011.  The group agreed on a new name for this Association — the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) — and charted out directions for the further cooperation.
Strategic Importance

The Indian Ocean covers about 20% of water on the world’s surface. It is the third largest of the world’s five oceans. The IOR countries have a population of approximately 2.6 billion, or 39% of the world’s people. The Indian Ocean accounts for 50% of the world’s container traffic and Indian Ocean ports handle about 30% of global trade. Around 66% of the world’s seaborne trade in oil transits the Indian Ocean. Roughly 55% of known oil reserves, and around 40% of gas reserves, are in the Indian Ocean region.
The IORA also reflects remarkable diversity of our Indian Ocean region. They range from small island-countries, such as Comoros and Seychelles, to G20 members such as India, Indonesia and Australia who stand united with a common bond of an ocean and a common commitment to the prosperity and sustainable economic growth of the region. With global economic power shifting to the east, maintaining prosperity and stability across the Indian Ocean region becomes more important than ever.
Common Challenges

The member-states are also linked by common challenges:

• Keep shipping lanes open
• Keep fishery stocks viable by practicing sustainable fisheries management.
• Forecast and tackle disasters like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
• Promote trade, education and tourism links across the region
• Women empowerment on a high priority
• Curbing piracy which according to World Bank costs the global economy around (U.S.) $18 billion a year
• Ensuring maritime security and maritime safety across

With the combined population of the 36 countries surrounding the Indian Ocean forecast to rise to 3.2 billion by 2030, these challenges can only be expected to aggravate.