With regard to the outcomes expected, Ansari referred to

the IORA Concord likely to be adopted at the summit tomorrow.

The IORA Concord, also called Jakarta Concord, is a strategic document containing the vision and norms of the future of cooperation among the member countries with an aim of strengthening the regional architecture to face its challenges.

The IORA Action Plan is a document containing the implementation actions of the Jakarta Concord. It also strengthens the implementation of priority areas and cross-sectoral commitments.

The Association comprises India, Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. It also has seven Dialogue Partners the US, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan and the UK.

Giving a backdrop of the IORA formation, the Vice President said the idea developed as there were common areas of interest and concerns among the countries sharing the Indian Ocean.

So far, there have been only ministerial-level meetings and this is the first summit, he noted.

Rim associations of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean have already existed and since the Indian Ocean is the third largest water body with 36 important countries sharing it, "obviously people feel the need for exchange of ideas and demarcation of areas of cooperation", he said.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)