On 18 October 2017, H.E. Mr. Virasakdi Futrakul, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand led the Thai delegation at the 17th Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers in Durban, South Africa. The meeting handed the IORA Chairmanship from Indonesia to South Africa, with the United Arabs Emirates as the Vice Chair, with Ministers and High-level Representatives from 21 member states and 7 dialogue partners attending the meeting. 

 

The meeting was held under the theme "Uniting the Peoples of Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Middle East through Enhanced Cooperation for Peace, Stability and Sustainable Development". The meeting adopted the Durban Communiqué and endorsed the report of the Committee of Senior Officials Meeting held on 16 – 17 October 2017. The meeting also witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of the Member States of the IORA for Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by Seychelles, Yemen, Somalia, South Africa, Singapore, and Mauritius. The meeting noted the progress of the implementation of the IORA Action Plan and the appointment of the IORA Secretary General, Dr. Nomvuyo Nokwe from South Africa. 

 

At the meeting, Thailand stressed the economic importance of the Indian Ocean and the necessity of preparing the region for future challenges as the global economic center gravitates from the Asia Pacific to the Indo Pacific. In this regard, Thailand submitted 3 key areas of cooperation for the mutual benefit of the IORA Member States. The first is to encourage connectivity and the need to weave together the region's existing connectivity endeavours, such as those under ACMECS, BIMSTEC, and ASEAN, into a coherent network. Thailand also proposed that IORA Member States join hands in drafting an IORA Master Plan on the Blue Economy as a guideline for this effort. Second is to emphasise sustainability and inclusive growth with Thailand expressing its readiness to share its development expertise with IORA Member States guided by His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy (SEP), as well as its continued support for women's economic empowerment. In this regard, Thailand's International Cooperation Agency (TICA) will host a workshop on the topic in 2018. Third is to support fisheries and aquaculture, which remain at the core of the region's economic sector and at the heart of IORA local and coastal communities. Thailand's Department of Fisheries will hold an international training course for inland and small scale aquaculture for IORA and BIMSTEC fisheries officers and biologists in November 2017. 

 

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.