From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Nov 8: Foreign ministers or Senior Cabinet Ministers of as many as 18 countries, including India, Australia and South Africa, are expected to meet for the conference of Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) commencing in Bangalore from November 9, Wednesday.
India would assume the chair of the IOR-ARC for a period of two years in the Bangalore Council Ministers (CoM) meeting from Yemen. The COM comprises the foreign ministers of the member countries. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will chair the COM meeting on November 15.
The conference will be held from November 9 to 15 at the Leela Palace Hotel and Hotel Matthan.
Though Foreign Ministers or any other senior Cabinet ministers of all the member countries can attend the Bangalore summit, Foreign Ministers or Senior Cabinet Ministers of Australia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Tanzania and Yemen are likely to particiapte in the meeting.
The IOR-ARC has 18 nations as member countires: Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambiquue, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the UAE and Yemen. India is founder-member of IOR-ARC.
The COM, which is the top decision-making body, would review the administrative arrangment for the IOR-ARC Special Fund. Ways and means to combat piracy at sea and enhancing maritme security in the India Ocean Rim Region would also be dicussed.
Addressing presspersons at the Secretariat here on Tuesday, P S Raghavan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, said this would be the 11th COM meeting of the IOR -ARC since it was established in Mauritius in 1997.
The IOR-ARC is aimed at promoting economic and technical cooperation, includign expansion of trade, martime security, energy security and investment among member countries.
The COM meeting would be preceded by the meetings of Idnian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF) on November 9, Indian Ocean RIM Working Group on Trade and Investment on November 10, Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (November 11) and the Committe of Senior Offiicals (CSO) (November 12). Contiunation of meeting of the CSO on November 14 and COM meeting on Novemebr 15.
A ‘Bangalore Declaration’ would be adopted and an official IOR-ARC website would be launched during the COM meet, Raghavan said.