H.E. Mr. Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, will lead the Thai Delegation to attend the Leaders’ Summit in Commemoration of the 20^th Anniversary of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on 7 March 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia. H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, will also attend the IORA Council of Ministers on 6 March 2017 in preparation for the Summit.

          This Leaders’ Summit will be the Organization’s first Summit to be held since its establishment in 1997 under the theme “Maritime Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Indian Ocean.” The Summit will adopt three outcome documents, namely, (1) The IORA Concord, (2) The IORA Action Plan 2017 – 2021, and (3) The Declaration on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism.

          The Summit will be a good opportunity for Thailand to contribute to the regional efforts on sustainable and responsible development of blue economy, express our readiness and potential to develop land and maritime infrastructure to become the region’s logistics and transportation hub, linking the maritime connectivity between the Indian and the Pacific Ocean. Thailand will also stress the importance of maritime security and safety as vital to the economic development of the region, as well as sharing of knowledge and expertise within IORA to enhance capacity in various fields that can complement Thailand’s national development strategy.

          IORA is a regional forum which promotes multifaceted cooperation of the 21 Indian Ocean Rim states from Australia to South East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa under the 6 areas of cooperation, namely, (1) Maritime Safety and Security, (2) Fisheries Management, (3) Trade and Investment Facilitation, (4) Disaster Risk Management, (5) Academic, Science and Technology Cooperation, and (6) Tourism and Cultural Exchanges. IORA also gives priority to Blue Economy and Women’s Economic Empowerment as two cross-cutting issues.