IORA ministers' meeting kicks off in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The 22nd meeting of the Council of Ministers (COM) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) began in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on Thursday morning.

The COM is preceded by the 24th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) held on Nov. 22-23 this year.

The two-day 24th meeting of the CSO discussed developing a mechanism for adopting big projects, preventing piracy, armed robbery, unregulated fishing and disaster management. Decisions taken at the CSO meeting will be placed in the IORA COM meeting.

Bangladesh is the current IORA Chair and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen is chairing the COM meeting.

Bangladesh assumed the position of the IORA chairship at the 21st IORA COM Meeting in Dhaka held on Nov. 17, 2021, and adopted the theme of "Harnessing the opportunities of the Indian Ocean sustainably for inclusive development" for its Chairship from 2021-2023.

IORA, an inter-governmental organization established on March 7, 1997, is aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region through its 23 members and 10 dialogue partners.