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IORA Summit 2017 Jakarta: Indian Ocean Rim Association Concord and other documents to be signed today
Past glory: A miniature vessel is on display during the IORA Summit
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span class="inline inline-center">Past glory: A miniature vessel is on display during the IORA Summit. Themed “The Great Indian Ocean Voyages,” the exhibition is being held as a side event of the IORA Summit.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
Following the discussion at a ministerial meeting, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Concord and other documents will be agreed upon today by the heads of state of the IORA member countries.
The IORA Concord, also known as the Jakarta Concord, is a strategic document containing IORA’s vision and cooperative policies to strengthen regional relationships and infrastructure.
The IORA Concord and the other three documents are aimed at promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region. The other three documents to be ratified are the IORA Action Plan, the IORA Declaration on Preventing and Combating Terrorism and Violent Extremism and the Joint Declaration of the IORA Business Community to Build Partnerships for Sustainable Economic Growth.
The documents were discussed at the ministerial meeting on March 6 and at a meeting of senior officials the day before.
The document of the IORA Action Plan will contain actions to implement the Jakarta Concord and strengthen commitments in the handling of issues of inter-sector and priority areas.
The IORA Declaration on Preventing and Combating Terrorism and Violent Extremism is a joint agreement of the IORA member states on the importance of curbing terrorism and violent extremism.
The Joint Declaration of the IORA Business Community to Build Partnerships for Sustainable Economic Growth will include efforts to reinforce cooperation and partnership of IORA member states for the expansion and diversification of trade and investment focused on the development of small and medium enterprises.
“The IORA Concord was initiated by Indonesia, and it is a sign of the country’s leadership. The document has been approved and supported by all IORA member countries,” said Desra Percaya, the head of IORA’s Indonesian Delegation at high officials’ meetings, during a press conference in Jakarta on Sunday.
The Jakarta Concord was discussed during the second day in a series of IORA meetings. The Concord will be put before the leaders for final approval on Tuesday.
The meeting between high officials yesterday also included a discussion about the Terrorism and Extremism Eradication and Prevention Declaration document.
The officials will finalize IORA member countries’ action plans for the next four years, according to Desra, who is also the Foreign Ministry’s director general for Asia-Pacific and African affairs.
Meanwhile, IORA’s secretary general K.V. Bhagirath expressed hope that the suggested proposal and projects would be immediately implemented after they had been approved at the state leader-level meeting during the summit.
“Indonesia is playing its role as the leader country and has taken measures that will further strengthen regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean,” Bhagirath noted.
The association is currently home to 21 member countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
IORA also has seven countries as its dialogue partners: China, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. There are also two observer organizations: the Indian Ocean Tourism Organization and the Indian Ocean Research Group.
Sailing experience
As the current chair of IORA, Indonesia is using the opportunity to share its great sailing experience with participating delegates through an exhibition themed “Great Indian Ocean Voyages” at the IORA Summit, which will end today.
The exhibition featured photographs of classic maps, artifacts, artwork and photographs of the Indian Ocean. Histories of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam are also featured at the exhibition.
Tourism Minister Arief Yahya expressed the hope that the exhibition had provided information to the guests about the maritime history of Indonesia, which hundreds of years ago had made great voyages across the Indian Ocean.
The great sails explored from Java to Madagascar during the 4th through the 9th century, according to Minister Arief.
The exhibition also shared histories of silk road trips made by medieval Moroccan travelers and scholar Muhammad Ibn Batūtah, Venetian merchant traveler Marco Polo and Chinese explorer Cheng Ho who founded a new civilization in the international trade. The exhibit also told about the spice trade and the arrival of Europeans (the Portuguese, Spanish, British and Dutch).
People now know to visit the tourist destinations introduced at the exhibition, such as Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Tanjung Lesung beach in Banten, Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Mandalika beach in West Nusa Tenggara, Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara along with many others.
