Mauritius: A Ganoo, Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, participated in the 22nd Council of Ministers (COM) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 24 November 2022.
The Republic of India was elected as Vice Chair of the Organisation for the period 2023-2025. Bangladesh will hand over the chairmanship to Sri Lanka in October 2023.
The projects and programmes of the IORA in the priority areas of cooperation were reviewed. Following Council’s approval, climate change will be included in the Agenda of the Organisation as a new priority area of cooperation.
The COM emphasized the need to have an inclusive post-covid 19 recovery programme.
The COM approved a Strategic Framework of Action on Marine Debris in the Indian Ocean and an IORA Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
The various activities that have been organized by the IORA Secretariat with the support of the Government of Mauritius to mark the Silver Jubilee of the Association were acknowledged.
The United Arab Emirates briefed COM on the launch of the Sheikh Zayed IORA Scholarship for Humanitarian Action and Development, a UAE-led initiative.
In the margins of the COM, Hon Minister Ganoo held bilateral meetings with H.E Dr A.K. Addul Momen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bangladesh and with H.E Mr Takei Shunsuke, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. During the meetings, cooperation between the countries was reviewed, and both sides agreed to follow up on some projects and other issues.
The Honourable Minister expressed the condolences of the Government of Mauritius to the Government and People of Indonesia on the loss of lives, injured and displaced persons following the earthquake that struck Cianjur in West Java.
