The 24th Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) successfully concluded on 21st May 2025 under the Chairmanship of Hon. Vijitha Herath, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism of Sri Lanka. The meeting was preceded by the 27th Meeting of the Committee of IORA Senior Officials, held from 19–20 May 2025 and chaired by Foreign Secretary Aruni Ranaraja under the theme “Sustainable Indian Ocean for Future Generations.” The meetings were held in the virtual format.
Prime Minister, Foreign Ministers and senior representatives from 23 IORA Member States and 12 Dialogue Partners participated at the COM along with the Secretary General of IORA. Deliberations focused on advancing cooperation in IORA’s six priority areas: Trade and Investment, Maritime Safety and Security, Fisheries Management, Disaster Risk Management, Academic, Science and Technology Cooperation, Blue Economy and Women’s Economic Empowerment. The Council considered recommendations put forward by the Senior Officials at their meeting yesterday.
The Ministers adopted the IORA Guidelines on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, as well as IORA’s Climate Agenda, both significant steps towards promoting environmental sustainability in the region. The Council also welcomed the European Union as its newest Dialogue Partner, further strengthening the Association’s international engagement. The Colombo Communiqué, highlighting progress achieved since the previous COM held in October 2023, was also adopted by the 24th COM.
During its 2023–2025 Chairmanship, under the theme “Strengthening Regional Architecture: Reinforcing Indian Ocean Identity,” Sri Lanka has led several key initiatives at IORA. Highlights include the commemoration of IORA Day 2024, which engaged over 800 students, and the inaugural IORA Business Conclave in Colombo, co-hosted by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce which brought together more than 200 regional business leaders in May 2024. Preparations are also underway to launch a digital platform of a IORA Center of Excellence on Ocean Sciences and Environment together with the Ocean University of Sri Lanka during the course of this year.
As the IORA Chair, Sri Lanka remains focused on strengthening regional cooperation and promoting sustainable development of the Indian Ocean region.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism
Colombo
21 May 2025
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Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
The 24th Meeting of the Council of Ministers
THE COLOMBO COMMUNIQUE
21st May 2025
We, the Ministers and the Heads of Delegations of the Member States of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA); Commonwealth of Australia, People's Republic of Bangladesh, Union of Comoros, French Republic (on account of Reunion henceforth France/Reunion), Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Madagascar, Malaysia, Republic of Maldives, Republic of Mauritius, Republic of Mozambique, Sultanate of Oman, Republic of Seychelles, Republic of Singapore, Federal Republic of Somalia, Republic of South Africa, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, United Republic of Tanzania, Kingdom of Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Republic of Yemen met on 21st May 2025 for the 24th Meeting of the Council of Ministers (COM), convened virtually and hosted by Sri Lanka as Chair of IORA.
- We reaffirm our shared commitment to the IORA goals and objectives enshrined in the Charter, and to the vision of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indian Ocean region.
- We represent a strategically significant region, home to diverse cultures, ethnicities, and traditions, comprising of nations at varying stages of development, united in solidarity as an organization committed to regional cooperation and progress.
- We acknowledged the role played by Sri Lanka during its Chairship in advancing key initiatives at IORA and strengthening further regional collaboration.
- We appreciated the notable contributions of the TROIKA, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka as the Chair, the Republic of India as the Vice Chair, and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, as the Past Chair.
- We expressed our gratitude to H.E. Dr Salman Al Farisi, former Secretary General of IORA for his exemplary leadership and dedication that has significantly strengthened regional cooperation, and we wish him continued success in his future endeavours.
- We warmly welcomed H.E. Ambassador Sanjiv Ranjan as the new Secretary-General of IORA as of 1st January 2025, and look forward to working with him to address contemporary challenges, strengthen the IORA Secretariat and elevate IORA’s progress to new heights.
- We appreciated the efforts by the IORA Member States in hosting several events related to the organization's key focus areas and looked forward to the positive impact of these activities on regional development and cooperation.
- We noted with satisfaction that the IORA Day was commemorated under the aegis of Sri Lanka’s Chairship in Colombo in March 2024, under the theme “Sustainable Indian Ocean for Future Generations” and welcomed the participation of over 800 school children whereby the importance of preserving oceans’ health for future generations was underlined.
- We also acknowledged and appreciated the efforts made by other IORA Member States and Dialogue Partners in celebrating the IORA Day on 7thMarch annually. Their continued commitment ensures this special day remains meaningful within the IORA Community under a shared theme.
- We congratulated the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce for successfully organizing the first ever IORA Business Conclave 2024 under the theme “Sustainable Growth – bridging Horizons” from 28th to 30th May 2024 in Colombo on the side lines of the Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF) which brought together over 200 IORA regional business leaders, industry experts, and professionals including 70 international business persons from the IORA region. The Conclave paved the way to strengthening collaborations between business communities and focused on emerging areas gaining global prominence such as ICT, Agriculture, Logistics, Tourism and Renewable Energy and Medium Enterprises development and Women Entrepreneurship. We strongly supported public-private partnerships in IORA to promote regional trade and ease of doing business.
- We appreciated the range of initiatives progressed to strengthen shared interest in maritime safety and security, including to enhance information sharing, promote dialogue and cooperation between maritime agencies, and build capacity through training and workshops.
- We reiterated our commitment to gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment which remains a cross-cutting issue in IORA and welcomed further initiatives in this regard.
- We appreciated the conclusion of series of Workshops on Developing Guidelines to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, carried out by Indonesia and France/Reunion since 2023. We acknowledged that IUU fishing poses a serious threat to marine ecosystems and livelihoods and we welcomed the initiatives of Indonesia and France/Reunion in formulating the guidelines. We noted with satisfaction that the guidelines deliberated at the workshop integrating Member States’ views and inputs were adopted at the 24th Council of Ministers Meeting reflecting IORA’s commitment to addressing IUU fishing, sustainable marine fisheries and striving for a future of complete elimination of IUU fishing in the Indian Ocean Region. We also commended the activities carried out by other member States to combat IUU fishing.
- We welcomed the official launch of the Indian Ocean University Network (UNIOR), on 15th November 2024, at Curtin University's Mauritius campus, promoting research and academic collaboration for sustainable regional development. This network brings together universities from IORA Member States and Dialogue Partners to drive increased collaboration on research by universities in the Indian Ocean region.
- In response to the impacts of climate change, we emphasized the importance of a regional approach and the value of cooperation among IORA Member States in working together to address the growing threat of climate change to the region’s stability and prosperity. We commended Bangladesh for her leadership for developing IORA’s Climate Change Strategic Agenda with the support of the IORA Secretariat and with valuable inputs of the IORA Member States.
- We expressed our condolences following the recent devastating earthquake affecting Thailand and stood in solidarity with the affected families.
- We condemned all terrorist attacks, in particular the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India, and expressed our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families. We called for the continued cooperation amongst IORA Member States, reiterating the commitments made in the Jakarta Declaration on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism, of March 2017.
- We also expressed our deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by the devastating blast at Bandar Abbas Port of the Islamic Republic of Iran on April 26, 2025.
- We welcomed the European Union as the 12th Dialogue Partner of IORA, marking another significant step in strengthening cooperation across and beyond the Indian Ocean.
- We commended Sri Lanka for hosting the Fifth Meeting of the IORA Functional Bodies, Chairs and Coordinating Countries (FBC-CC) virtually on 23rd April 2024, reviewing progress under the 2nd IORA Action Plan (2022-2027) and for appraising the progress of all activities under the IORA priority areas and cross –cutting issues.
- We thanked all Functional Bodies for their productive contribution to the full range of IORA’s activities. We expressed our appreciation to the Chairs of the Functional Bodies and the Coordinating Countries for their continued commitment in advancing the objectives of the Action Plans.
- We noted the progress made on the implementation of the “IORA Vision 2030 and Beyond”, agreed by Ministers at the 23rd Council of Ministers in Colombo on 11 October 2023. We called upon all Member States to continue the implementation of its activities, which will help ensure the ongoing effectiveness and relevance of IORA.
- We valued the support of the Dialogue Partners in sharing technical expertise, resources and reiterated the importance of continued cooperation for actionable, future oriented initiatives.
- We encouraged Member States to utilize the IORA Special Fund to implement programmes under priority areas, promoting human resources development and regional prosperity.
- We welcomed signing of the MOUs between IORA and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Sub Regional Office for Eastern Africa (UNECA SRO - EA) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). We acknowledge the renewed/ extended MoU with the Agency Française de Development (AFD), International Solar Alliance (ISA), and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
- We appreciated the activities by the IORA Specialized Agencies and supported their enhanced contribution to the IORA objectives.
- We extended our appreciation to Member States for their collaboration and also acknowledged the IORA Member States who have seconded officials to the IORA Secretariat and encouraged Member States to provide further support to assist the Secretariat in fulfilling its mandate efficiently and effectively.
- We recognized the valuable contributions made by Member States during the deliberations at the 27th Committee of Senior Officials meeting virtually hosted by Sri Lanka from 19th to 20th May 2025.
- We acknowledged the dedicated efforts of the Secretary General and the Secretariat staff in supporting the successful execution of meetings, activities and projects.
- We expressed our sincere appreciation to the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka for hosting the 24th Council of Ministers’ Meeting, the 27th Committee of Senior Officials’ and for ensuring the smooth conduct of proceedings and productive deliberations.
Colombo, Sri Lanka
21 May 2025
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මාධ්ය නිවේදනය
ඉන්දියානු සාගරය ආශ්රිත රටවල සංවිධානයේ (IORA) 24 වැනි අමාත්ය මණ්ඩල රැස්වීම 2025 මැයි 21 වැනි දින කොළඹදී / මාර්ගගත ක්රමයට
ඉන්දියානු සාගරය ආශ්රිත රටවල සංවිධානයේ (IORA) 24 වැනි අමාත්ය මණ්ඩල රැස්වීම 2025 මැයි 21 වැනි දින ශ්රී ලංකාවේ විදේශ කටයුතු, විදේශ රැකියා සහ සංචාරක අමාත්ය ගරු විජිත හේරත් මහතාගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් සාර්ථකව අවසන් විය. මෙම රැස්වීමට පෙර එනම් 2025 මැයි 19 වැනි දින සිට 20 වැනි දා දක්වා අයෝරා ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන්ගේ කමිටුවේ 27 වැනි රැස්වීම විදේශ කටයුතු ලේකම් අරුණි රණරාජා මහත්මියගේ ප්රධානත්වයෙන් "අනාගත පරම්පරා සඳහා තිරසාර ඉන්දියානු සාගරයක්" යන තේමාව යටතේ පැවැත්විණි. මෙම රැස්වීම් මාර්ගගතව පැවැත්විණි.
අයෝරා සංගමයේ මහලේකම්වරයා සමඟ අග්රාමාත්යවරයා, විදේශ අමාත්යවරුන් සහ අයෝරා සාමාජික රටවල් 23 ක් සහ සංවාද පාර්ශ්වකරුවන් 12 ක් නියෝජනය කරමින් ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ නියෝජිතයන් ද මෙම අමාත්ය මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමට සහභාගී වූහ. අයෝරා සංගමයේ ප්රමුඛතා ක්ෂේත්ර හය වන වෙළඳාම සහ ආයෝජනය, සමුද්රීය ආරක්ෂාව සහ සුරක්ෂිතභාවය, ධීවර කළමනාකරණය, ආපදා අවදානම් කළමනාකරණය, අධ්යයන, විද්යා හා තාක්ෂණ සහයෝගීතාව, නිල් ආර්ථිකය සහ කාන්තා ආර්ථික සවිබල ගැන්වීම යන ක්ෂේත්රවල සහයෝගීතාව වර්ධනය කිරීම කෙරෙහි එහිදී අවධානය යොමු විය. ඉකුත් දින (20) පැවති රැස්වීමේදී ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන් විසින් ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද නිර්දේශ කවුන්සිලය විසින් සලකා බලන ලදී.
කලාපයේ පාරිසරික තිරසාරභාවය ප්රවර්ධනය කිරීම සඳහා වැදගත් පියවර දෙකක් වන නීති විරෝධී, වාර්තා නොවූ සහ නියාමනය නොකළ මසුන් ඇල්ලීම පිළිබඳ අයෝරා මාර්ගෝපදේශ මෙන්ම අයෝරා සංගමයේ දේශගුණික න්යාය පත්රය ද අමාත්යවරු විසින් පිළිගන්නා ලදී. සංගමයේ ජාත්යන්තර සම්බන්ධතාවය තවදුරටත් ශක්තිමත් කරමින්, කවුන්සිලය එහි නවතම සංවාද හවුල්කරු ලෙස යුරෝපා සංගමයද පිළිගත්තේය. 2023 ඔක්තෝම්බර් මාසයේදී පැවැති අමාත්ය මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමෙන් අනතුරුව ලබා ඇති ප්රගතිය නිරුපණය කෙරෙන කොළඹ ප්රකාශය ද 24 වැනි අමාත්ය මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමේදී සම්මත කරන ලදී.
"කලාපීය සහයෝගිතාව ශක්තිමත් කිරීම: ඉන්දියානු සාගර අනන්යතාවය නැවත බල ගැන්වීම" යන තේමාව යටතේ, 2023–2025 සභාපතිත්වය දරන කාලය තුළ, ශ්රී ලංකාව ආයෝරා සංගමයේ ප්රධාන මුලපිරීම් කිහිපයකට නායකත්වය දී ඇත. සිසුන් 800 කට අධික සංඛ්යාවක් සම්බන්ධ කරගත් 2024 අයෝරා දින සැමරුම සහ 2024 මැයි මාසයේ කොළඹදී පැවති ලංකා වාණිජ මණ්ඩලය විසින් සම සත්කාරකත්වය දරන ලද කලාපීය ව්යාපාරික නායකයින් 200කට අධික සංඛ්යාවකගේ සහභාගිත්වයෙන් පැවැති සමාරම්භක අයෝරා ව්යාපාරික සමුළුව කැපී පෙනෙන අවස්ථා අතර වේ.
මෙම වසර තුළදී ශ්රී ලංකා සාගර විශ්ව විද්යාලය සමඟ එක්ව අයෝරා සාගර විද්යාව සහ පරිසරය පිළිබඳ විශිෂ්ටතා මධ්යස්ථානයක ඩිජිටල් වේදිකාවක් දියත් කිරීමට ද සූදානම් වෙමින් පවතී.
ශ්රී ලංකාව අයෝරා සභාපති ලෙස, කලාපීය සහයෝගීතාව ශක්තිමත් කිරීම සහ ඉන්දියානු සාගර කලාපයේ තිරසාර සංවර්ධනය ප්රවර්ධනය කිරීම කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කරයි.
විදේශ කටයුතු, විදේශ රැකියා සහ සංචාරක අමාත්යාංශය
කොළඹ
2025 මැයි 21 වැනි දින
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ஊடக வெளியீடு
இந்தியப் பெருங்கடல் விளிம்பு நாடுகள் சங்கத்தின் (IORA) 24வது அமைச்சர்கள் மன்றக்கூட்டம் 2025 மே 21, கொழும்பில் மெய்நிகர் வடிவில் நடைபெறுகிறது
இலங்கையின் வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள், வெளிநாட்டு வேலைவாய்ப்பு மற்றும் சுற்றுலாத்துறை அமைச்சர் கௌரவ விஜித ஹேரத் தலைமையில் இந்தியப் பெருங்கடல் விளிம்பு நாடுகள் சங்கத்தின் (IORA) 24வது அமைச்சர்கள் மன்றக் கூட்டம் (COM), 2025 மே 21 அன்று வெற்றிகரமாக நிறைவடைந்தது. இக்கூட்டத்திற்கு முன்னதாக, "எதிர்கால சந்ததியினருக்கான நிலைபேறான இந்தியப் பெருங்கடல்" என்ற கருப்பொருளின் கீழ் வெளியுறவுச் செயலாளர் அருணி ரணராஜா தலைமையில், 27வது அயோரா சிரேஷ்ட அதிகாரிகள் குழுவிற்கான கூட்டம், 2025 மே 19 முதல் 20 வரை நடைபெற்றது. இக்கூட்டங்கள் மெய்நிகர் வடிவத்தில் நடைபெற்றன.
பிரதமர், வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சின் அமைச்சர்கள் மற்றும் 23 அயோரா உறுப்பு நாடுகள் மற்றும் 12 உரையாடற் பங்காளிகளின் சிரேஷ்ட பிரதிநிதிகள், அயோராவின் பொதுச் செயலாளருடன், அமைச்சர் மன்றக்கூட்டத்தில் பங்கேற்றனர். அயோராவின் ஆறு முன்னுரிமைப் பகுதிகளான வர்த்தகம் மற்றும் முதலீடு, கடல்சார் பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் கடல் வளங்குன்றாப் பராமரிப்பு, மீன்வள முகாமைத்துவம், பேரிடர் முகாமைத்துவம், கல்வி, அறிவியல் மற்றும் தொழில்நுட்ப ஒத்துழைப்பு, கடற் பொருளாதாரம் மற்றும் பெண்களுக்குப் பொருளாதார ரீதியிலான அதிகாரமளித்தல் ஆகியவற்றில் ஒத்துழைப்பை மேம்படுத்துவது குறித்து விவாதங்களில் கவனம் செலுத்தபட்டன. நேற்று நடைபெற்ற கூட்டத்தில் சிரேஷ்ட அதிகாரிகள் முன்வைத்த பரிந்துரைகளை மன்றம் பரிசீலித்தது.
சட்டவிரோத, அறிக்கையிடப்படாத மற்றும் ஒழுங்குபடுத்தப்படாத (IUU) மீன்பிடித்தல் குறித்த அயோரா வழிகாட்டுதல்களையும், அயோராவின் காலநிலை நிகழ்ச்சி நிரலையும் அமைச்சர்கள் ஏற்றுக்கொண்டனர்; இவ்விரண்டு விடயங்களும் பிராந்தியத்தில் சுற்றுச்சூழலின் நிலைபேறான தன்மையை மேம்படுத்துவதற்கான குறிப்பிடத்தக்க படிகளாக விளங்குகின்றன. ஐரோப்பிய ஒன்றியத்தை, மன்றம் தனது புதிய உரையாடல் கூட்டாளியாக வரவேற்றமையானது, சங்கத்தின் சர்வதேச ஈடுபாட்டை மேலும் வலுப்படுத்தியது. 2023 அக்டோபரில் நடைபெற்ற முந்தைய அமைச்சர்கள் மன்றத்தைத் தொடர்ந்து, அயோரா எய்திய முன்னேற்றத்தை எடுத்துக்காட்டும் கொழும்பு அறிக்கையை 24வது அமைச்சர் மன்றம் ஏற்றுக்கொண்டது.
"பிராந்தியக் கட்டமைப்பை வலுப்படுத்துதல்: இந்து சமுத்திரத்தின் அடையாளத்தை வலுப்படுத்துதல்" என்ற கருப்பொருளின் கீழ், 2023 முதல் 2025 ஆம் ஆண்டு வரையிலான தனது தலைமைத்துவத்தின் போது, இலங்கையானது அயோராவில் பல முக்கிய முயற்சிகளை முன்னெடுத்துள்ளது. 800க்கும் மேற்பட்ட மாணவர்களை உள்ளடக்கிய 2024 இற்கான அயோரா தின நினைவுகூரல் மற்றும் 2024 மே இல் 200க்கும் மேற்பட்ட பிராந்திய வணிகத் தலைவர்களை ஒன்றிணைத்து, இலங்கை வர்த்தக சபையால் கொழும்பில் நடத்தப்பட்ட அயோரா வணிக மாநாட்டின் தொடக்க நிகழ்வு ஆகியவை சிறப்பம்சங்களாகும். இவ்வாண்டு காலப்பகுதியில், இலங்கை சமுத்திர பல்கலைக்கழகத்துடன் இணைந்து, அயோரா கடல் அறிவியல் மற்றும் சுற்றுச்சூழல் சிறப்பு மையத்தின் இலத்திரனியல் தளத்தைத் தொடங்குவதற்கான ஏற்பாடுகளும் நடந்து வருகின்றன.
அயோராவின் தலைவராக, இலங்கையானது, பிராந்திய ஒத்துழைப்பை வலுப்படுத்துவதிலும் இந்தியப் பெருங்கடல் பிராந்தியத்தின் நிலையான வளர்ச்சியை ஊக்குவிப்பதிலும் கவனம் செலுத்துகிறது.
வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள், வெளிநாட்டு வேலைவாய்ப்பு மற்றும் சுற்றுலா அமைச்சு
கொழும்பு
2025 மே 21
