Australia next Vice Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
Media release
7 August 2010
I am pleased to announce that Australia was confirmed as Vice Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) for 2011 and 2012 at the Council of Ministers meeting in Sana’a, Yemen on 5 August.
India will Chair the IOR-ARC during this period. Following its term as Vice Chair, Australia will assume the Chair of IOR-ARC for 2013 and 2014.
This is an important development that highlights our commitment and strengthens our engagement with the Indian Ocean. It underlines the fact that Australia is an Indian Ocean as well as a Pacific nation.
The countries of the Indian Ocean rim are home to more than 2.6 billion people, almost 40 per cent of the world's population.
Indian Ocean shipping routes are vital to Australia's economic interests, particularly for the energy and resources that meet rising demand in the Middle East, India and China. The security of its waters goes to the heart of Australia's national interests.
Despite the fact that the Indian Ocean region is of vital strategic importance to Australia it has in the recent past been substantially underappreciated.
In my first speech as Foreign Minister I said that Australia needed to look west to India.
Over the last three years, Australia has placed India in the front rank of Australia’s international partnerships. India, the world's largest democracy, has emerged in recent years as a significant global power, both politically and economically. Recognising the importance of India’s rise for Australia’s national interests, and the strong convergence of interests and values that we share, we lifted the status of our bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership last year.
Australia must continue to look west, and enhance its engagement with the countries and associations of the Indian Ocean region.
IOR ARC, which is the region’s largest grouping, was founded in 1997 to facilitate and promote economic cooperation in the region by bringing together representatives of government, business and academia. As a founding member of IOR-ARC, Australia looks forward to working with India as Chair and other members to increase the relevance and focus of its activities.
There are many issues that IOR-ARC members could work collaboratively on, including fisheries management, disaster management, education, tourism, and agriculture.
IOR-ARC is comprised of 18 Indian Ocean littoral States – Australia, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Kenya, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Media inquiries
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