India is ready to share its experience and resources in the Indian Ocean Region in the spirit of solidarity, the MoS said.

India is committed to strengthening the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the largest and pre-eminent organization in the Indian Ocean Region, to promote peace, security and prosperity in the region as well as in the wider Indo-Pacific, Minister of State for External Affairs Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said on Wednesday in his remarks at the 21st Annual Council of Ministers (COM) meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

At the IORA COM, held in a hybrid format in Dhaka, the MoS External Affairs highlighted India’s contributions as coordinator of the IORA priority areas of Disaster Risk Management (DRM).

The MoS External Affairs underlined India’s assistance as the first responder in the region to various countries in the Indo-Pacific during the Covid-19 pandemic and emphasised India’s readiness to share its experience and resources in the spirit of solidarity.

As a country committed to strengthening of IORA, India undertook various initiatives during the current year including assisting the IORA Secretariat, conducting capacity building workshops in the areas ranging from Yoga and traditional medicines to Remote sensing, UNCLOS and Ocean Data Management and leading the discussions on various issues under IORA.

The MoS congratulated Bangladesh for assuming the Chairship of IORA.

He welcomed the Russian Federation as the new Dialogue Partner of IORA.

Dhaka Communique was adopted at the end of the meeting.

He also congratulated Ambassador Salman Al-Farisi for being selected as the next Secretary-General (SG) of IORA and expressed hope that a full time SG would help impart fresh energy and vision to the organization.