Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
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The Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), initially known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative, is an international organization with 18 member states. It was first established in Mauritius on March 1995 and formally launched on 6-7 March 1997.
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.
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[edit] Membership
[edit] Full members
Founding member states (March, 1995):
September 1996:
March 1999: (Council of Ministers Meeting in Maputo, Mozambique)
Bangladesh
Iran
Seychelles (withdrew as a member on 1 July 2003)
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
[edit] Dialogue Partners
Countries with the status of dialogue partners are:
Note 1: accepted as dialogue partner at the Special Council of Ministers meeting in Oman in January 2000.
Turkey has applied for dialogue partner status. This application was deferred pending clarification on the criteria for such participation.
The Indian Ocean Tourism Organisation has observer status.
[edit] Objectives
The objectives of IOR-ARC are as follows:
- To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and Member States
- To focus on those areas of economic cooperation which provide maximum opportunities for development, shared interest and mutual benefits
- To promote liberalisation, remove impediments and lower barriers towards a freer and enhanced flow of goods, services, investment, and technology within the Indian Ocean rim.
[edit] Activities
IOR-ARC activities include several on-going topical projects and work programs conducted by member countries with shared interests, all of which are under the umbrella of 3 separate working groups. These are the Working Group on Trade and Investment (WGTI), the Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF), and the Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG). The Association holds a Council of Ministers meeting once every two years. The working groups have business and academic representatives to ensure that different points of view and interests are fully reflected in IOR-ARC’s work program.
[edit] Forums and Institutions
- Council of Ministers (COM)
- Committee of Senior Officials (CSO)
- Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF)
- Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG)
- Working Group on Trade and Investment (WGTI)
- IOR-ARC High Level Task Force
