T

he Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) urged closer cooperation among member countries in an 11-point document called the Yogyakarta Message.

“The said document will be presented to the 16th Council of Ministers Meeting in October 2016 in Bali. We hope it can contribute toward strengthening IORA as an institution as well as contributing to the formulation of the IORA Concord and action plan,” head of the Foreign Ministry’s Policy Planning and Development Agency, Siswo Pramono, said at the close of a two-day symposium on Thursday.

The symposium was held to commemorate IORA’s 20th anniversary. Some 200 government officials and experts from 12 of 21 member countries attended the event as well as those from six dialogue partners and diplomats stationed in Indonesia.

The document, called in full the “Yogyakarta Message: Toward the Future of Indian Ocean Rim Association”, consisted of 11 recommendations divided into three groups: economic cooperation, Indian Ocean regional architecture and socio-cultural cooperation.

Delegates agreed that the document was useful for enhancing cooperation within the IORA framework, benefitting not only countries around the Indian Ocean and other parts of the world. “One of the most important things is economic cooperation because IORA members vary from least developed countries [LDCs] to G20 members,” said Siswo. “Solid cooperation is needed to improve the LDCs.”

The Yogyakarta Message stipulates that IORA member countries should emphasize sustainable development by applying the Blue Economy concept in order to preserve the ocean. The document also calls for networking to implement the Small Island Development Initiative.

Responding to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the document states “IORA should continue the joint endeavor in combating IUU fishing such as by supporting the Regional Fishery Management Organization (RFMO).”

With regard to the Indian Ocean regional architecture, the participants agreed on the need for people-centered dialogue and respect for the rule of international law in resolving conflicts; fostering regionalism to achieve prosperity, stability and peace; and the need for IORA to strengthen cooperation with other regional organizations such as ASEAN, SAARC and SADC.

In socio-cultural cooperation, IORA agreed to strengthen the existing interaction among various nations around the Indian Ocean through cultural diplomacy.

IORA also aims to improve gender equality to improve conditions for women. Members also stated the need for cooperation in science to build a “strong knowledge-based economy as the key cornerstone of all national development plans, providing incentives to stimulate private sector R&D, promote manufacturing of selected high-technology products and create national programs to support and facilitate technology development”.

As for natural disasters, the document says that “in strengthening disaster management across the Indian Ocean, IORA should encourage member states to avail themselves of indigenous knowledge for greater sustainability, to bolster local socio-economic political resilience and promote local ownership to support post disaster reconstruction efforts.”

IORA secretary general KV Bhagirath said IUU fishing problems would be solved through Blue Economy cooperation. “We will collaborate together to combat IUU fishing,” he said.

Bhagirath said the two-day meeting went smoothly and resulted in important agreements to improve cooperation among IORA members in economic cooperation and people-to-people diplomacy.