Indonesia hosted the first ever IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) Leaders' Summit on 7 March 2017 in Jakarta under the theme "Strengthening Maritime Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous Indian Ocean “which brought together the Leaders of the 21 IORA Member States and its 7 Dialogue Partners as well as other special invitees including the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. On 6 March IORA developed its first Action Plan setting out short term, medium term and long-term flagship initiatives for 2017-2021.IORA engaged with the private sector through a "Business Summit" that was held on 6 March 2017 to deepen business cooperation in the region and was attended by over 300 businesses. Other related events, including a photo exhibition on IORA's journey through the last 20 years and release of an academic book entitled "Learning to the Past, Charting the Future" were launched in the margins of the Summit.IORA Summit conclude promising to deal with future challenges
The meeting went well in a productive and constructive manner. In addition to commemorating the 20th anniversary of IORA, the convening of the Summit is
a strategic and progressive step by IORA Leaders
Masum Billah
Indonesia hosted the first ever IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) Leaders Summit on 7 March 2017 in Jakarta under the theme Strengthening Maritime Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous Indian Ocean which brought together the Leaders of the 21 IORA Member States and its 7 Dialogue Partners as well as other special invitees including the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. On 6 March IORA developed its first Action Plan setting out short term, medium term and long-term flagship initiatives for 2017-2021.IORA engaged with the private sector through a Business Summit that was held on 6 March 2017 to deepen business cooperation in the region and was attended by over 300 businesses. Other related events, including a photo exhibition on IORAs journey through the last 20 years and release of an academic book entitled Learning to the Past, Charting the Future were launched in the margins of the Summit.
The Mauritius Government convened a meeting in 1995 to discuss the enhancement of economic co-operation among the countries of the Indian Ocean Rim. Representatives of governments, academia and businesses from Australia, India, Kenya, Mauritius, Oman, Singapore and South Africa attended the meeting. They agreed on principles of open regionalism and inclusivity of membership, with the objectives of trade liberalization and promoting trade co-operation. On the basis of these principles Government, Academic and Private Sectors met in Mauritius on 15-17 August 1995 who decided to create a Second Track process, complementary to an Inter-Governmental Movement. And in 1996 a meeting in Mauritius finalized a Charter for the creation of IORA, and expanded the membership to include Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique. IORA was formally launched at the first Ministerial Meeting in Mauritius on 6-7 March 1997. The Charter of IORA outlines the fundamental principles, objectives, areas of cooperation, and institutional and financial structures and arrangements of the Association. This was considered a historic decision of vital political importance to the Indian Ocean Rim countries as it formally launched the Association. It opens a new era of cooperation among Member States of the Association for their mutual benefit and for the welfare of their peoples. The Association does not seek to be a substitute for, but rather to reinforce, complement and be consistent with the bilateral and multilateral rights and obligations of Member States. The Charter was amended twice since 1997, in 2010 during the Council of Ministers meeting in Yemen to revitalize the Association and in 2014 following the change of the name of the Association from IOR-ARC to IORA.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the summit and held bilateral talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, State Minister of UAE Dr Maitha Salem Al-Shamsi, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Nobuokishi and State Minister for Foreign Affairs of India V K Singh.In her speech at the IORA, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of blue economy for future development, and urged the leaders of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to reduce tension
in the region, respect the freedom of navigation and use of sea . She said If blue economy were to guide our economics in the future, then we should use our seas to promote friendship and curb tension in the region, respect freedom of navigation and cooperate through the mechanism of IORA. Terming Blue Economy as the common interest of all the IORA member states, she said their quest for development through oceans and seas is part of their larger efforts to transform Bangladesh along with the rim countries. Lets set sail. She raised Myanmar refugee issue as its is a big problem for Bangladesh and it needs to be resolved, The issues of cooperation on the rail, pharmaceutical and energy sectors between Bangladesh and Indonesia were discussed. The Indonesian president said his country made a massive progress in the rail sector and wanted to make more contribution to Bangladeshs rail sector. In this connection, Sheikh Hasina expressed satisfaction over the supply of 250 rail carriages by Indonesia to Bangladesh .The Indonesian president highly appreciated Bangladeshs tremendous socioeconomic development under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.The prime minister extended her invitation to the Indonesian president to visit Bangladesh at his convenient time which he cordially accepted.
It is expected that the Indonesian presidents visit to Bangladesh may happen within this year to boost up the bilateral and regional relations and cooperation.
Sheikh Hasina proposed to establish Indian Ocean Technical and Vocational University in Bangladesh for creating a pool of skilled mariners for the region and thanked the IORA leadership for adopting the IORA Concord and its Action Plan for strengthening maritime.
Indian Ocean is of paramount significance to us for security, connectivity, peace and prosperity.Hasina mentioned that it constitutes the lifeline of the globalized world providing passage to half of its container ships, one-third of the bulk cargo traffic and two thirds of its oil shipments. Connectivity is critical for peace and development and Bangladesh attaches high priorities to connectivity, she added. We would like to connect not only physically but also connect through ideas, innovation, trade, finance, culture and tourism. More importantly, we would like to connect human minds to build peaceful and prosperous societies, This quotation of Bangladesh Prime Minister bears utmost significance in the present global perspective.
Reiterating her zero tolerance to terrorism and violent extremism, the prime minister mentioned that her governments approach also encompasses maritime safety and security. The Declaration on Countering Violent Extremism Leading to Terrorism by the IORA would definitely enhance cooperation and coordination among the member countries. Indicating the adverse impacts of the climate change, Hasina said Bangladesh still remains hostage of adverse impacts of climate change despite efforts. And that means we are advancing towards an alarming rise at the sea level. It is predicted that with one meter rise in the sea level Bangladesh will lose one-third of our most valuable agricultural land and displace about 18 million people.
In the summit our prime minister raised all the significant issues which concern all the member states of IORA and other global communities. It was a successful summit. The comment of President Joko Widodo regarding the summit tells its relevance. He said we have just concluded the first IORA Summit. The meeting went well in a productive and constructive manner. In addition to commemorating the 20th anniversary of IORA, the convening of the Summit is a strategic and progressive step by IORA Leaders to realize an IORA that is able to move faster, able to face the current situation, and able to deal with future challenges. The current Summit is also a milestone in the renewal of commitment by IORA countries to intensify IORA cooperation.
The writer is an educationist Email:[email protected]
