THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM ASSOCIATION (IORA) 1. THE FORMATION OF IORA

THE FORMATION OF IORA Highlighting the importance of economic co-operation between the countries bordering the Indian Ocean, the vision for IORA originated during a visit by late President Nelson Mandela of the Republic of South Africa to India in 1995, where he said: “The natural urge of the facts of history and geography … should broaden itself to include the concept of an Indian Ocean Rim for s. [...] The Charter establishing the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation was adopted by Resolution in the first Ministerial Meeting in Port Louis, Mauritius on 7 March 1997; reviewed in the tenth Meeting of the Council of Ministers in Sana’a, Yemen in 2010; amended in the fourteenth Meeting of the Council of Ministers in Perth in 2014 following the new name of the Association as the “In. [...] The Special Fund is a financial mechanism for supporting and complementing the funding of projects and programmes adopted by the Association, in line with the principles and objectives enshrined in the Charter as well as the objectives and goals envisaged by the relevant organs of the Organisation. [...] During South Africa’s Chair of IORA the Charter was revised and progress realised in implementing the IORA Action Plan (2017-2021) such as through: (i) the establishment of new Working Groups on the Blue Economy, Maritime Safety and Security, and Women’s Economic Empowerment, as well as the Core Group on Tourism; (ii) Workshop to strengthen the IORA Secretariat; and (iii) the deepening and broaden. [...] The ISDP allows for access to the IORA Special Fund through a special arrangement for the less developed Member States with much of the organisation and logistics of the event being managed by the Secretariat in consultation with the hosting Member State.