Iran’s Role In IOR-ARC Hailed By Its Chief : Daily

Tehran, Nov 5, IRNA - Secretary general of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) K.V. Bhagirath has said Iran played an important role in the regional organization, it was reported Monday. Bhagirath made the remarks while speaking exclusively to the English-language paper ‘Iran Daily.' The interview appeared in the paper's Monday edition Praising Iran’s significant role in the 19-member key international body, Bhagirath said Iran was one of the most active members of the association. The 12th ministerial meeting of the IOR-ARC was hosted by India in the city of Gurgaon near the capital of New Delhi on Friday. The science and technology center of IOR-ARC located in Iran and the Islamic Republic contributes to promote the status of the association, Bhagirath said. He added that the IOR-ARC Regional Center for Science and Technology Transfer (RCSTT) was established in Iran in 2008. The RCSTT has hosted many workshops, symposiums and seminars for IOR-ARC members, Bhagirath said. The day-long meeting of the IOR-ARC focused on economic issues and ways to promote sustainable development among member countries. The IOR-ARC, initially known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative, was first established in Mauritius in March 1995 and formally launched on March 6-7, 1997. The 19 member-state IOR-ARC spans a 20-million sq. km area with a population of 1.9 billion. IOR-ARC includes Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Australia. The IOR-ARC promotes cooperation in areas such as maritime security and safety, trade facilitation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable fisheries and oceans management. The IOR-ARC aims at promoting sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and member states, focusing on those areas of economic cooperation that provide maximum opportunities for development and lower barriers towards a freer flow of goods among member states. The association holds a Council of Ministers meeting once every two years. The association disseminates information on trade and investment regimes, with a view to helping the region’s business community better understand the impediments to trade and investment within the region. These information exchanges have been intended to serve as a base to expand intra-regional trade. China, Egypt, France, Japan and United Kingdom are also dialog partners of the association. Indian Ocean Tourism Organization (IOTO) and Indian Ocean Research Groups (IORG) are observers of the organization./end