Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has said regional cooperation was of strategic importance to the Maldives given its location and close proximity to important maritime trade routes in the Indian Ocean.
Delivering a statement at the ongoing 19th Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Foreign Minister Shahid said Maldives has been historically linked to the littoral states of the Indian Ocean rim, and it would value the opportunity to foster greater partnerships across the region. He also alluded to the fact the priority areas for IORA, which includes maritime safety and security, trade and investment, blue economy, fisheries management, and economic empowerment of women, were important priorities for Maldives domestically as well.
In his statement, Minister Shahid thanked IORA member states for accepting the application from Maldives to become a member and reaffirmed the commitment of Maldives to uphold the principles and objectives of the IORA Charter. The minister noted the need to address the challenges of non-traditional threats in the Indian Ocean such as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, terrorism, trafficking in persons and arms, which are of serious concern to Maldives. He added Maldives would cooperate more closely with regional countries to find sustainable and practical solutions.
In his statement, Minister Shahid also mentioned the diversity IORA member states bring to the organisation, unique experiences and practices. The minister said the shared vision and the need to collaborate amongst member states are fundamental to the peace, security and stability of the Indian Ocean region. He emphasised the underlying factor that should determine the deliberations within IORA should be regional unity and prosperity for the peoples of the Indian Ocean rim states.
IORA is an intergovernmental regional organization that was established in 1997 and has its headquarters in Mauritius. It presently comprises of 22 member states, and 9 dialogue partners or observers. Maldives first applied to become a member state of IORA in 2017 but was only approved during the 18th Council of Ministers in 2018.