MNA– Iran’s Deputy FM Abbas Araghchi has left Tehran for Jakarta this morning to take part in the ministerial meeting of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) in the Indonesian capital.


Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, will participate in the ministerial meeting of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on Monday which is proceeded by a senior official's meeting on Sunday and will be followed by the leaders' meeting on Tuesday.

The Iranian expert delegation at the 20th meeting of IROA was headed by Majid Bizmark, Director General for International Affairs, Environment and Sustainable Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Iranian Ambassador to Jakarta also in attendence.

Senior Iranian officials will take part in the IROA Council of Ministers’ meeting and the first ever IROA Summit since its establishment in 1997, on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

The Summit will cover a wide range of significant topics including marine safety and security, trade and investment, fisheries management and scientific cooperation.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo will co-chair the Summit with the prior chair, Australian Prime Minister Turnbull, and South African President Zuma, set to take over the presidency of IROA later this year.

According to local media, as many as 16 leaders from the 21-member Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) have confirmed their plan to particiapte at the Summit. Member counties include Iran, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, UAE, and Yemen.

A business forum on the sidelines is set to be attended by at least 477 participants, according to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi.

The summit is set to produce three main documents, namely the IORA Concord at the leaders’ level, a ministerial Plan of Action for the next four years and a declaration on preventing and countering terrorism, local media reported.