Six priority areas, two cross-cutting issues and a consensus rule: the Indian Ocean Rim Association

Background

The Indian Ocean Rim Association is an inter-governmental organisation of countries whose shores are washed by the Indian Ocean. The idea came from a remark by Nelson Mandela, then President of South Africa, on a visit to India, that history and geography pointed towards an Indian Ocean rim grouping for socio-economic co-operation. That led first to the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and, two years later, to the Association itself. Its foundation document is the IORA Charter, which sets the guiding principles. The Charter commits the Association to economic cooperation in a spirit of multilateralism, through an approach that is consensus-based, evolutionary and non-intrusive. Work is organised under six Priority Areas and two Cross-Cutting Issues. A Committee of Senior Officials meets twice a year to carry the agenda forward and to take up the recommendations of working groups and forums of officials, business and academics. The region is home to nearly 2.7 billion people and its sea lanes carry a large share of the world's container traffic, bulk cargo and oil shipments.