THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM ASSOCIATION

Why in the News?

Recently, the Indian Ocean Rim Association’s (IORA) Council of Ministers (COM) was held in Colombo under the banner theme of ‘Reinforcing Indian Ocean Identity’.

What is the IORA and how was it formed?

1. IORA was formed in 1997 as Indian Ocean Region-Association for Regional Cooperation, as a brainchild of former South African President Nelson Mandela.
2. IORA is an association of 23 countries from Africa, West Asia, South Asia, South East Asia, Australia and littoral states situated in and around the Indian Ocean.
3. The 23 countries include: Australia, Bangladesh, the Comoros, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the UAE and Yemen. 
4. There are 11 dialogue partners: China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Türkiye, the U.K. and the U.S. 
5. The Council of Foreign Ministers, the apex body of the grouping meets once a year, which moves by rotation through members every 2 years. 
6.  The troika of IORA is within the South Asian region currently, with Sri Lanka took charge as the chair from Bangladesh and India is the Vice-Chair.

Why does the Indian Ocean Region matter?

1. IOR consists of
   1. A third of the world’s population
   2. 80% of global oil trade
   3. 50% of the world’s containerised cargo
   4. 33% of its bulk cargo passes through it
   5. Produces a combined total of $1 trillion in goods and services
   6. The intra-IORA trade stands at $800 billion.
2. India’s other regional organisations (SAARC, BIMSTEC, etc., ) have their own challenges.
3. QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) remains as U.S.-led, along with military allies Australia and Japan. 
4. China’s active involvement in roping in India’s neighbours in its groupings such as,
   1. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
   2. China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation
   3. China-South Asian Countries Poverty Alleviation and Cooperative Development Centre
5. Therefore, IORA acts as a “safe space” for India and other countries of the region to keep out the constant challenge of big-power rivalries.
   1. Pakistan, though applied for the membership in 2001, it has not been admitted as it has not extended MFN (most favoured nation) status to India.
   2. Thus, the grouping shall act as a less contentious space for India compared to groupings like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

What does IORA focus on?

1. The IORA’s seven priority areas include:
   1. Maritime safety and security
   2. Trade and investment facilitation
   3. Fisheries management
   4. Disaster risk management
   5. Academic, science and technology
   6. Tourism and cultural exchanges
   7. Gender empowerment.
2. The IORA has a special fund of $80,000-$150,000 for project grants to members with a particular focus on climate change. 
3. The IORA has made free and open sea lane, guarding against piracy and other strategic issues as their integral part of the discussions.