Role of the COM
The COM is empowered by paragraph 5.1 (a) of the IORA Charter which provides for the main duties of the body, namely the
01
Formulation of policies
02
Review of progress of co-operation
03
Taking decisions on new areas of co-operation
04
Establishment of Functional Bodies
05
Establishment of Specialised Agencies
06
Take any other decisions on matters of general interest
Administration of the COM Meeting

The COM meeting is managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chair’s country in close collaboration with the Institutional Arrangements and Broadening Engagement (IABE) Directorate at the Secretariat of IORA.

The directorate assists the chair where needs be and works on the implementation of the COM meeting by drafting documents, preparing meeting agendas and circulating documentation to Member States, among other things.

The IORA Chair is currently Sri Lanka and it has served as Vice-Chair from 2022 – 2023, before assuming the role of Chair since the COM meeting held in October 2023.

The Chair has, in consonance, been devolved in the person of the Honorable Foreign Minister, Hon. M.U.M Ali Sabry, PC. M.P, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.  

 

The theme chosen by the Chair, for their mandate 2023-2025, and announced at the COM meeting in October 2023 is “Strengthening Regional Architecture: Reinforcing Indian Ocean Identity".  

 

Additionally, the current Vice-Chair of the organisation is India, which shall second the Chair in their mandate until India assumes the Chairship in 2025.  

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Chairship
The COM is led by a Chair and is assisted by a Vice-Chair elected by the representatives of Member States in the IORA Council of Ministers’ meeting.

The Chair has a mandate of 2 years, whereby it will lead the organization during thisperiod.  In practice, the incoming chairis the Member State which has served as Vice-Chair in the previous mandate.

The role of the Chair is to arrange, coordinate, host and preside over the meetings of the Council, the meetings of the Committee of Senior Officials and any other meetings as mandated by the COM.

History
7-8 March 2007
- Tehran, Iran on 07 Mar 2007
21-22 February 2006
- Tehran, Iran on 21 Feb 2006
26-27 August 2004
- Colombo, Sri Lanka on 27 Aug 2004
12-13 October 2003
- Colombo, Sri Lanka on 12 Oct 2003
7-8 April 2001
- Muscat, Oman on 07 Apr 2001
30-31 March 1999
- Maputo, Mozambique on 30 Mar 1999
5-7 March 1997
- Grand Bay, Mauritius on 05 Mar 1997
17 December 2020 (Virtual)
- Abu Dhabi, UAE on
11 October 2023
- Colombo, Sri Lanka on
25 June 2009
- Sana’a, Yemen on
2 November 2012
- Gurgaon, India on
23 October 2015
- Padang, Indonesia on
2 November 2018
- Durban, South Africa on
17 November 2021
- Dhaka, Bangladesh on
5 August 2010
- Sana’a, Yemen on
COM Meetings
The COM meets on an annual basis, in an in-person meeting, hosted in the country of the Chair. Below is a table of all the Council of Ministers meetings held since the creation of the organization with their respective outcome documents.
COM
Date of Meeting
Host country
Communique
7th
07 - 08 Mar 2007
Tehran, Iran
-
6th
21 - 22 Feb 2006
Tehran, Iran
5th
27 - 27 Aug 2004
Colombo, Sri Lanka
-
4th
12 - 13 Oct 2003
Colombo, Sri Lanka
-
3rd
07 - 08 Apr 2001
Muscat, Oman
-