Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) will help to ensure security
Advocating deeper economic ties in the Indian Ocean region and emphasis on maritime security, India on Friday pitched for more robust “cooperative regionalism” and said the geo-strategic importance of the area cannot be underestimated, the Hindu reports.
“As focus of global economic growth shifts to Asia, it will occupy even greater salience in our strategic perspective,” External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said in his address at the Ministerial Meeting of the 20-nation Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) in Gurgaon.
“We envision IOR-ARC as a regional body that can respond effectively to this need and enhance our individual and collective capacities to deal with contemporary challenges facing our common maritime domain,” he said on the concluding day of the five-day conference.
“IOR-ARC has helped promote understanding and cooperation amongst our countries over these years, yet immense untapped potential remains,” the minister said. The theme for today’s deliberations is “IOR-ARC at 15 – the Next Decade”.
“Security of maritime commerce and safety of seafarers are of concern to all of us. There is a need, for example, to be more precise in defining high risk areas in the Indian Ocean, based on actual incidents of piracy, as this impacts adversely on insurance premiums and adds to the cost of shipping in our region,” the Minister also said.
India will host an IOR-ARC seminar on maritime security in early 2013.
Source: The Hindu
