Bangladesh has assumed the chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) for the next two years with the theme – “Harnessing the opportunities of the Indian Ocean sustainably for inclusive development.”

“This event has been very special to Bangladesh,” said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen while briefing reporters on the outcome of the21st Meeting of the Council of Ministers (COM) held in a city hotel on Wednesday evening.

The theme, selected by Bangladesh, was “profusely appreciated” by the member countries and the dialogue partners of the IORA, he said.

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Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Secretary, Maritime Affairs Unit (MAU) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rear Admiral (retd) Md Khurshed Alam also spoke on the occasion.

Dr Momen said they have nominated Salman Al Farisi from Indonesia as the new Secretary General of the IORA who will take over the charge from January 1 next year.

The IORA decided to take up Russia as a dialogue partner in the Council of Ministers. “I welcome Russia as the new dialogue partner of IORA,” said the Foreign Minister.

He said the vaccine issue came up in a big way amid the participation of vaccine producing countries – the UK, the US and China. “Vaccine should be a public good and it should be shared without any discrimination.”

From the dialogue partners, the COM meeting had a ministerial level participation physically from the UK.

“Despite the ongoing pandemic, the wide range of participation in the event is a testimony to our Covid-19 management,” Dr Momen said.

A working group on disaster risk management has been established and India will be the coordinator of the working group, he said.

Dr Momen reiterated that they want to see open, free, peaceful and inclusive Indian Ocean instead of any single country or groups’ domination in the region.

Responding to a question, Secretary (MAU) Khurshed Alam said Indo-Pacific is still an evolving issue and it is not clear yet.

Foreign Secretary Masud said the European Union (EU) has its own vision on Indo-Pacific while its members too. On the other hand, the US has its own policy.

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He said Bangladesh will make its position clear in the coming days as they are still working on the issue.

The Foreign Secretary also said it will also be made clear what will be the outlook of IORA as the members will have the opportunity to share their ideas.

The IORA, established in 1997, is an inter-governmental regional organisation aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region. It has 23 Member States and 9 Dialogue Partners.