On 23 October 2015, Mr. Noppadon Theppitak, Deputy Permanent Secretary, as Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, led the Thai delegation to attend the 15th Indian Ocean Rim Association Council of Ministers’ Meeting in Padang, Indonesia to jointly set the direction for IORA’s future cooperation.

In the said Meeting, the Hon Julie Bishop, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, officially handed over IORA Chairmanship to H.E. Mrs. Retno Lestari Priansari Marsuri, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia. The Meeting was attended by Ministers and high-level representatives from 18 Member States from around the Indian Ocean Rim and 7 Dialogue Partners.

At the Meeting, Thailand underlined the importance of cooperation on the Blue Economy particularly on fisheries and aquaculture in which Thailand has the capacity and experience to share, as well as Thailand’s policy in pursuing responsible and sustainable fishery practices, including the country’s determination to tackle IUU fishing. Furthermore, Thailand attaches importance to developing seaport connectivity and shipping which will offer new logistics corridors for the region, bridging the Indian Ocean with the Mekong sub-region and the Pacific Ocean.

In fostering regional cooperation, Thailand highly values the strengthening of maritime safety and security, capacity building in disaster and risk management in which Thailand has capacity to share, including the enhancement of IORA’s visibility in the global community. Thailand also supports Indonesia’s initiative to host the 1st IORA Summit in 2017 on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of IORA.

The Meeting endorsed the Padang Communiqué and the IORA Declaration on Maritime Cooperation, as well as discussed means to strengthen regionalism and engagement with dialogue partners of IORA. The meeting welcomed Germany as a new Dialogue Partner of IORA.

On the same occasion, Thailand and Madagascar signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Search and Rescue in the Indian Ocean Region as approved by the Cabinet on 20 October 2015. The MoU will help enhance the capacity of Thailand in coordinating aeronautical and maritime search and rescue operations with IORA Member States, as well as promote safety in maritime transportation in the Indian Ocean region.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) was established in 1997 to promote economic cooperation, sustainable development as well as trade and investment facilitation among 20 Member States along the Indian Ocean Rim including Thailand. IORA has focused on six priority areas of cooperation, including Maritime Safety and Security, Trade and Investment facilitation, Fisheries Management, Disaster Risk Management, Academic, Science and Technology Cooperation, Tourism and Cultural Exchanges and Women Economic Empowerment as a cross-cutting theme of IORA.