Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation

  IOR-ARC member states  IOR-ARC dialogue partners

The Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), initially known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative, is an international organization with 18 member states. It was first established in Mauritius on March 1995 and formally launched on 6–7 March 1997.

Members: All Sovereign States of the Indian Ocean Rim are eligible for membership. To become members, States must adhere to the principles and objectives enshrined in the Charter. Member states can decide on the expansion of membership of the association.

Members are:Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The Seychelles announced its withdrawal from the Association in July 2003.Dialogue Partners China , Egypt, France, Japan, United Kingdom

IOR-ARC OBSERVERS:Currently IOR-ARC Observer status is limited to the Indian Ocean Tourism Organization (IOTO).

BackgroundOn 29-31 March 1995, the Mauritius Government convened a meeting to discuss the enhancement of economic co-operation among countries of the Indian Ocean Rim. Representatives from the governments, business sectors and academia, from Australia, India, Kenya, Mauritius, Oman, Singapore and South Africa, subsequently referred to as the "core group states" or M-7, attended the meeting. In a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, the participants declared that they had agreed on "principles of open regionalism and inclusivity of membership, with the objectives of trade liberalization and promoting trade co-operation. Activities would focus on trade facilitation, promotion and liberalization, investment promotion and economic co-operation.”

A tripartite Working Group (government, academic and private sector) met in Mauritius on 15 –17 August of 1995. This meeting decided to create a second track process as complimentary to an inter-governmental movement. A later meeting during September 1996 in Mauritius finalized a Charter for the creation of the IOR-ARC, and expanded the membership to include Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique – known as the M-14.

The IOR-ARC was formally launched at the first Ministerial Meeting in Mauritius on 6 – 7 March 1997. This meeting adopted the IOR-ARC Charter, and determined a number of administrative and procedural matters.

ObjectivesThe objectives of IOR-ARC are as follows:•To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and Member States•To focus on those areas of economic cooperation which provide maximum opportunities for development, shared interest and mutual benefits•To promote liberalization, remove impediments and lower barriers towards a freer and enhanced flow of goods, services, investment, and technology within the Indian Ocean rim.

Forums and Institutions

•Council of Ministers (COM)•Committee of Senior Officials (CSO)•Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF)•Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG)•Working Group on Trade and Investment (WGTI)•IOR-ARC High Level Task Force

Council of Ministers (COM):The highest authority of the Association rests with the Council of (Foreign) Ministers (COM), which meets once every two years (or more often as mutually decided). The COM formulates policy, reviews progress on co-operation, makes decisions on new areas of co-operation and on the establishment of additional mechanisms or matters of general interest.

Committee of Senior Officials (CSO):The Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) is composed of government officials of Member States. It meets as often as mutually decided (but at least once a year). It reviews the implementation of the decisions taken by the COM, and, in co-operation with the IORBF and the IORAG establishes priorities of economic co-operation ,Develops, monitors and co-ordinates work programmes , Mobilises resources for financing work programmes. The CSO submits periodic reports to the COM, and refers policy matters to the COM for its decision.

Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF): The IORBF may meet together with the COM and the CSO, or as often as mutually decided. It interacts with the CSO and the Secretariat in the consideration, formulation, and implementation of the policy and work programmes of the Association. The IORBF may draw upon other non-governmental regional business networks, as necessary. The IORBF is seen as part of a unique structure, created as an opportunity to build bridges and increase networking between the three tiers within the region.

Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG): The IORAG may meet together with the COM and the CSO, or as often as mutually decided. It interacts with the CSO and the Secretariat in the consideration, formulation, and implementation of the policy and work programmes of the Association. The IORAG may draw upon other non-governmental regional academic networks, as necessary. The IORAG was seen as part of a unique structure, created as an opportunity to build bridges and increase networking between the three tiers of government, private sector and academia, within the region.

Working Group on Trade and Investment (WGTI): At the second biennial COM meeting in Mozambique in March 1999, the IOR-ARC Ministers agreed to a realistic, outcomes focused, trade and investment agenda. The basis for this agenda would be trade facilitation, trade liberalisation, and economic and technical cooperation. In order to proceed with this agenda, the Ministers adopted a resolution for the establishment of a Working Group on Trade and Investment. The Inaugural meeting of the WGTI took place in Oman in January 2000. A second meeting of the WGTI took place again in Oman in April 2001, immediately prior to the COM meeting of April 2001.

IOR-ARC CO-ORDINATING SECRETARIAT: The IOR-ARC Charter determines that the Secretariat of the association will coordinate, service and monitor the implementation of policy decisions and work programmes, as laid down. The Secretariat is based in Mauritius.

IOR-ARC High Level Task Force: The COM, at its third meeting in Oman in April 2001, endorsed the recommendation of the CSO to establish a High Level Task Force (HLTF) to study the future direction of the Association, as well as a number of issues that had been hampering the Association in the execution of its set goals.

Activities

IOR-ARC activities include several on-going projects and work programs conducted by member countries with shared interests, all of which are under the umbrella of 3 separate working groups. These are the Working Group on Trade and Investment (WGTI), the Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF), and the Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG). The Association holds a Council of Ministers meeting once every two years. The working groups have business and academic representatives to ensure that different points of view and interests are fully reflected in IOR-ARC’s work program.

India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Trilateral

IBSA is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa to promote South-South cooperation and exchange.

After the discussions between the Heads of State and Government of the IBSA countries at the G-8 meeting that took place in Evian in 2003, and following ongoing trilateral consultations, the Foreign Ministers of the respective countries met in Brasilia on June 6, 2003. At this meeting between Ministers Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma from South Africa, Celso Amorim from Brazil and Yashwant Sinha from India, the launching of the IBSA Dialogue Forum was formalized through the adoption of the "Brasilia Declaration" .

  1st IBSA SUMMIT, Brasillia-13 Sept. 2006

ObjectivesThe main objectives of the IBSA Dialogue Forum are as follows:

•To promote South-South dialogue, cooperation and common positions on issues of international importance •To promote trade and investment opportunities between the three regions of which they are part •To promote international poverty alleviation and social development •To promote the trilateral exchange of information, international best practices, technologies and skills, as well as to compliment each others competitive strengths into collective synergies •To promote cooperation in a broad range of areas, namely agriculture, climate change, culture, defence, education, energy, health, information society, science and technology, social development, trade and investment, tourism and transport.

The IBSA Dialogue Forum has regular consultations at Senior Official (Focal Point), Ministerial (Trilateral Joint Commission) and Heads of State and/or Government (Summit) levels, but also facilitates interaction amongst academics, business and other members of civil society.

Indian PM Manmohan Singh with South African President Thabo Mbeki and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the IBSA Summit, 2007.

IBSA SummitsSeptember, 2006,  Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,Brasilia

October, 2007, South Africa,Thabo Mbeki,Pretoria

October, 2008, India,Manmohan Singh,New Delhi

April 15, 2010, Brazil,Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,Brasília

October, 2010, South Africa, Jacob Zuma,Pretoria

Areas of cooperationAgriculture, climate change, culture, defence, education, energy, health, information society, science and technology, social development, trade and investment, tourism and transport.

Declarations and Communiqué1] New Delhi Agenda for cooperationYashwant Sinha, Celso Amorim and Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa respectively, met in New Delhi on 4th and 5th March 2004 for the first meeting of the Trilateral Commission of the IBSA Dialogue Forum. The issues discussed were United Nations reforms, Peace and security, Social Development.

2] Cape Town Ministerial CommuniquéThe foreign ministers of the three countries met in Cape Town on 10th and 11th March 2005 for the second meeting of the Trilateral Commission of the IBSA Dialogue Forum. Is was the Millennium review summit where the ministers reiterated their commitments toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 as their core strategy in their collective fight against hunger, poverty, and other problems ailing their society. Other issues discussed were: The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Latin and South American integration, intensification of cooperation in the WTO multilateral trade negotiations, IBSA Sectoral cooperation, IBSA facility for hunger and poverty alleviation.

3] Rio de Janeiro Ministerial CommuniquéAnand Sharma, Celso Amorim and Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa respectively, met in Rio de Janeiro on 30th March 2006 for the third meeting of the Trilateral Commission of the IBSA Dialogue Forum. The following issues were raised and discussed: United Nations reforms, Non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control International trade,IBSA facility fund for hunger and poverty alleviation, IBSA sectoral cooperation, IBSA trade and investment forum.

Agreements and Memorandum of Understanding•MoU on Agriculture and Allied Fields•MoU on Biofuels•Agreement on Merchant Shipping and Other Maritime Transport Matters•Action Plan on Trade Facilitation for Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment•MoU Framework for Cooperation on the Information Society

G20Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G-20) is a group of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from 20 economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.

Collectively, the G-20 economies comprise 85% of global gross national product, 80% of world trade (including EU intra-trade) and two-thirds of the world population

MandateThe G-20 is the premier forum for our international economic development that promotes open and constructive discussion between industrial and emerging-market countries on key issues related to global economic stability.

OriginsThe G-20 was created as a response both to the financial crises of the late 1990s and to a growing recognition that key emerging-market countries were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussion and governance. Prior to the G-20 creation, similar groupings to promote dialogue and analysis had been established at the initiative of the G-7 like the G-22 and G-33which aimed at discussed reforms of the global economy and the international financial system. The proposals made by the G-22 and the G-33 to reduce the world economy's susceptibility to crises showed the potential benefits of a regular international consultative forum embracing the emerging-market countries. Such a regular dialogue with a constant set of partners was institutionalized by the creation of the G-20 in 1999.

MembersArgentina,Australia,Brazil,Canada,China,France,Germany,India,Indonesia,Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Republic of Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America

OrganizationThe G-20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff. The chair rotates annually among the members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries. The chair is part of a revolving three-member management group of past, present and future chairs referred to as the Troika. The incumbent chair establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration of its term, which coordinates the group's work and organizes its meetings. The role of the Troika is to ensure continuity in the G-20's work and management across host years. The current chair of G20 is France; it was handed over from South Korea after the G20 Summit during November 2010.

Additional Participants•The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund•The Chairman of the International Monetary Fund•The President of the World Bank•The Chairs of International Monetary and Financial Committee•The Chairman of the Development Committee of IMF and World BankParticipate in G-20 meetings on an ex-officio basis.

The G-20 thus brings together important industrial and emerging-market countries from all regions of the world.

2008 G-20 Washington Summit , USA

2009 G-20 London Summit, UK

2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit, USA

2010 G-20 Toronto Summit,Canada

2010 G-20 Seoul Summit, South Korea

November 2011 France, Cannes---Current Chair--FRANCE

AchievementsThe G-20 has progressed a range of issues since 1999, including agreement about policies for growth, reducing abuse of the financial system, dealing with financial crises and combating terrorist financing. The G-20 also aims to foster the adoption of internationally recognized standards through the example set by its members in areas such as the transparency of fiscal policy and combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In 2004, G-20 countries committed to new higher standards of transparency and exchange of information on tax matters. This aims to combat abuses of the financial system and illicit activities including tax evasion. The G-20 has also aimed to develop a common view among members on issues related to further development of the global economic and financial system.

To tackle the financial and economic crisis that spread across the globe in 2008, the G20 members were called upon to further strengthen international cooperation. Accordingly, the G20 Summits have been held in Washington in 2008, in London and Pittsburgh in 2009, and in Toronto and Seoul in 2010.

G-20--2011 Summit in Cannes, was to build on the above mentioned progress of the G20 and ensure an active follow-up on processes already underway. It also addressed other essential issues which are crucial to global stability such as the reform of the international monetary system and the volatility of commodity prices.

G77

The Group of 77 (G-77) was established on 15 June 1964 by seventy-seven developing countries signatories of the “Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries” issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.

Beginning with the first “Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 in Algiers (Algeria) on 10 – 25 October 1967, which adopted the Charter of Algiers”, a permanent institutional structure gradually developed which led to the creation of Chapters of the Group of 77 with Liaison offices in Geneva (UNCTAD), Nairobi (UNEP), Paris (UNESCO), Rome (FAO/IFAD), Vienna (UNIDO), and the Group of 24 (G-24) in Washington, D.C. on IMF and World Bank.

Although the members of the G-77 have increased to 130 countries, the original name was retained because of its historic significance.

AimsThe Group of 77 is the largest intergovernmental organization of developing states in the United Nations, which provides the means for the countries of the South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the United Nations system, and promote South-South cooperation for development.

MembersThe Group of 77 comprise 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has since expanded to 130 member countries. The group can be described as comprising all of UN members (along with the Palestinian Authority) excluding the following:•All Council of Europe members (with the exception of Bosnia Herzegovina);•All Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members (with the exception of Chile);•All Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) (full) members (with the exception of Tajikistan);•All "mini" countries (whose population size is under 50,000 like Vatican City, Nauru);•Republic of Kiribati (whose population size is just under 100,000).

StructureThe operation and modalities of work of the G-77 in the various Chapters have certain minimal features in common such as a similarity in membership, decision-making and certain operating methods. A Chairman, who acts as its spokesman, coordinates the Group’s action in each Chapter. The Chairmanship, which is the highest political body within the organizational structure of the Group of 77, rotates on a regional basis (between Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean) and is held for one year in all the Chapters. Currently the Republic of Argentina holds the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 in New York for the year 2011. Ambassador Jorge Argüello is the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Argentina to the United Nations and Chairman of the Group of 77 in New York.The South Summit is the supreme decision-making body of the Group of 77. It is convened once in every five years. The First and the Second South Summits were held in Havana, Cuba, on 10 – 14 April 2000 and in Doha, Qatar, on 12 – 16 June 2005, respectively. In accordance with the principle of geographical rotation, the Third South Summit is due to be held in Africa in 2011. The Annual Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 is convened at the beginning of the regular session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. Periodically, Sectoral Ministerial Meetings in preparation for UNCTAD sessions and the General Conferences of UNIDO and UNESCO are convened. Special Ministerial Meetings are also called as needed such as on the occasion of the Group’s 25th anniversary (Caracas, June 1989), 30th anniversary (New York, June 1994), and 40th anniversary (Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 2004).

G-4The G4 is an alliance among Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan for the purpose of supporting each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.

Unlike the G8 (formerly known as G7), where the common objective is economy and long term political motives, the G4's primary aim is the permanent member seats on the UN Security Council.

Countries that strongly oppose the G4 countries' bids have formed the Uniting for Consensus movement, or the Coffee Club, now comprising over 40 nations. The leaders of this group are Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Argentina and Pakistan. In East Asia, both China and South Korea heavily oppose Japan's bid. In Europe, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands all oppose a seat for Germany. In Latin America, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico are opposing a seat for Brazil. In Asia, Pakistan is opposing India's bid.

The G4 member states are: Brazil,  Germany,  India,  Japan

BRIC

BRIC is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China

The acronym was coined by Jim O'Neill in a 2001 paper entitled "Building Better Global Economic BRICs.

Goldman Sachs Bank argues that the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China is such that they could become among the four most dominant economies by the year 2050. The thesis was proposed by Jim O'Neill, global economist at Goldman Sachs.

"Dreaming with BRICS: The Path to 2050," published in 2003:The BRIC thesis recognizes that Brazil, Russia, India and China have changed their political systems to embrace global capitalism. Goldman Sachs predicts that China and India, respectively, will become the dominant global suppliers of manufactured goods and services, while Brazil and Russia will become similarly dominant as suppliers of raw materials.

Background

President Vladimir Putin of Russia was the driving force behind this original cooperative coalition of developing BRIC countries. No text has been made public of any formal agreement to which all four BRIC states are signatories. This does not mean, however, that they have not reached a multitude of bilateral or even quadrilateral agreements. Evidence of agreements of this type are abundant like: Trilateral agreements and frameworks made among the BRICs include the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (member states include Russia and China, observers include India) and the IBSA Trilateral Forum, which unites Brazil, India, and South Africa in annual dialogues. Also important to note is the G-20 coalition of developing states which includes all the BRICs.

Summit Date Host country Host leader Location held

1st June 16, 2009 Russia Dmitry Medvedev Yekaterinburg

2nd April 16, 2010 Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Brasília

3rd April 2011   China Hu Jintao Beijing

Leaders at the 1st BRIC summit,16 June 2009 From left are: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil; President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia; President Hu Jintao of China, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India.

AssessmentChina's extraordinary 11.9 per cent year-on-year growth in the first quarter underlines the economic power and increasing global importance of the four nations. That makes regular BRIC summits necessary, as the group's members form a potential counterbalance to the wealthy West.

But. China is a deciding factor in this grouping compared to the other BRIC countries. Without China, the BRICs are just the BRI---which loses its significance. China is the muscle of the group and the Chinese know it. They are the one with the big reserves. They are the biggest potential market. “Economically, financially and politically, China overshadows and will continue to overshadow the other BRICs." China's economy is larger than that of the three other BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia and India) combined. Moreover, China's exports and its official forex reserve holdings are more than twice as large as those of the other BRICs combined. Thus the BRIC summits may have not really registered any major breakthrough.

The BRIC nations, unified in 2001 by a Goldman Sachs acronym, do not have much in common economically. Brazil and Russia mainly rely on natural resources, benefiting in the last decade from higher prices. China and India, meanwhile, have their gigantic populations providing them global scale as producers of goods and consumers of resources - assuming their economies continue to grow rapidly. The four countries are currently the most important of the emerging markets, but that dominance may not continue. A fifth country, Indonesia, may well equal their importance in the next decade.

Their artificial association means there can sometimes be little common ground. But the 2008 crisis and subsequent recession showed how their interests sometimes collectively diverge markedly from those of the developed Western nations that currently dominate world output.

BRIC economies were badly affected by the financial crisis as trade credits dried up. Their recovery, however, has been more robust than most, and has caused a rapid rise in global commodity and energy prices. The BRIC leaders will therefore probably want to continue meeting regularly.

In crises, they may be better served by making decisions together - for their own benefit and for that of broader emerging markets, to protect their interests in what can often be a zero-sum economic world. However unconventionally this BRIC bloc came together, Western nations will need to grow accustomed to its evolving power and influence.

Pretoria sought BRIC membership over 2010 and the process for formal admission began as early as August 2010. South Africa was officially admitted as a BRIC nation on December 24, 2010 after being invited by China and the other BRIC countries to join the group. The capital “S” in BRICS now stands for South Africa.