M49

16 May 1995

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTS FOR INDIAN OCEAN REGION

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Gareth Evans departs tomorrow for an eight nation tour from 17 to 28 May which will take him, successively, to Maldives, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Madagascar, South Africa and Mauritius.

The purpose of Senator Evans's visit is to discuss with regional countries possible approaches to dialogue and cooperation in the Indian Ocean, as well as bilateral issues.

Senator Evans will encourage regional participation in the International Forum on the Indian Ocean Region (IFIOR), to be jointly hosted by the Federal and Western Australian Governments in Perth from 11 to 13 June.

Australia believes that a new era of opportunity is opening in the Indian Ocean region for all regional countries. Indian Ocean countries share a vital interest in the expansion of free trade and investment in the Indian Ocean region, and in its stability and cohesion. Closer regional cooperation has the potential to more effectively utilise the human, natural and other resources of the Indian Ocean region to attain sustained and accelerated growth of its economies and improve the economic and social welfare of its peoples.

Australia is participating as an active and supportive member, alongside a number of regional countries, in the Working Group established at the recent International Meeting of Experts on the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative held in Mauritius from 29 to 31 March 1995.

Against the background of a worldwide trend towards the opening up of economies, globalisation and regionalism, IFIOR will be the first ever comprehensive forum on Indian Ocean issues and will allow for exploratory discussions of the potential for dialogue and cooperation over a wide-ranging agenda of regional issues.

Australia's hosting of IFIOR will be a major step forward in further developing concepts and ideas about frameworks and structures for dialogue and cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.

IFIOR will be tripartite in nature - drawing participants from academia, the private sector and government, with officials attending in their private capacities.

Participants from 28 other Indian Ocean regional countries are being invited to IFIOR. These are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Comoros, Djibouti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Kuwait, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Participants from the following organisations have also been invited: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

IFIOR will be chaired by former Treasurer and Minister for Trade, the Hon John Dawkins and assisted by Mr Clive Griffiths MLC, President of the Western Australian Legislative Council as the Vice-Chair.

IFIOR is the product of the "Look West" strategy which was launched in Perth in August 1994 by Senators Evans and McMullan and follows on from the recent International Meeting of Experts in Mauritius.

CANBERRA