India participates in 24th IORA Meeting, adopts Colombo Communique

New Delhi [India], May 21 (ANI): The 24th Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers, hosted virtually by Sri Lanka on Wednesday, brought together high-level representatives from across the region under the theme "Sustainable Indian Ocean for Future Generation."

The Indian delegation was led by P Kumaran, Secretary (East), who represents India as the current vice-chair and a member of the IORA Troika.

Member States adopted the 'Colombo Communique' and held wide-ranging discussions on matters of regional interest and strengthening IORA.

The Ministry of External Affairs, in a press release, said, "The 24th Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Meeting of the Council of Ministers (COM), hosted by the IORA Chair Sri Lanka, was held virtually on 21 May 2025 under the theme: 'Sustainable Indian Ocean for Future Generation.' P Kumaran, Secretary (East), led the Indian delegation at the 24th meeting of IORA COM."

It added, "India is currently the Vice-Chair of IORA and part of the Troika. India will assume the Chairship of IORA for 2025-2027. The 24th COM meeting saw the participation of Ministers and High-level delegates from all 22 IORA Member States and IORA's 12 Dialogue Partners. During the meeting, the Member States held discussions on strengthening IORA, matters of regional interest and adopted the 'Colombo Communique'."

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said P Kumaran reaffirmed India's strong commitment to upholding the Indian Ocean Region's vision.

In a post on X, Jaiswal said, "Secretary (East) P Kumaran represented India at the 24th IORA Council of Ministers meeting and reaffirmed India's strong commitment to upholding our vision of the Indian Ocean Region. He reiterated that terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, including state-sponsored cross-border terrorism, poses a serious threat to peace, security and development of the region, and must be unequivocally condemned."

P Kumaran, in his statement, underscored India's commitment to the well-being and progress of nations of the Indian Ocean, in alignment with India's Vision of the Indian Ocean Region.

"He noted that cooperation, collaboration and concerted efforts among Member States, are essential to reach convergence on issues of common interest in the Indian Ocean Region. Secretary (East) affirmed that terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, whether state-sponsored or carried out by individuals, poses a serious threat to peace, security, and development of the region, and must be unequivocally condemned," the MEA added. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)