Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG)

The Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG) was established in recognition of the important role of the academia in regional organisations.

One of the mechanisms created during the establishment of the IORA is the Indian Ocean Rim Academic Group (IORAG). IORAG has been positioned as the primary vehicle for academics, universities, think tanks and scientific and technological centres to formulate policy and project recommendations to IORA Member States.

The role set out for the Academic Group has been both advisory and catalytic, with the following principal objectives:

• to service the needs of Government and Business
• to promote intellectual dialogue amongst the participating Member States
• to serve as a vehicle for the development and dissemination of the Indian Ocean Rim Concept
• to serve the region through coordinated and rigorous research

 

Under the Jakarta Concord’s Action Plan (2017-2021), IORA seeks to further strengthen the IORAG through the sharing of information and knowledge by fostering a more dynamic link between policy and projects in IORA work programmes. To this end, the 24^th Meeting of the IORAG in South Africa established a Sub-Committee to lead the institutional, operational, and administrative reform of IORAG within IORA.

 

Key developments so far:

• The IORAG Sub-Committee met at the 24^th Meeting of the IORAG in South Africa (2018) and in advance of the 25^th Meeting of the IORAG in India (2018).
• India, as the Coordinating Country for Academic Science and Technology Cooperation has hosted two Experts Group Meetings on Academic Science and Technology Cooperation (EGMASTC) in 2019 and 2020. The EGMASTC is conceptualised as an ad-hoc inter-governmental forum that is mandated to deliberate on the mechanism to implement the IORA Action Plan relating to the field of academic, science and technology cooperation. The participants of EGMASTC are the policy makers dealing with academic, science and technology in the governments of the Member States.

India is the current Chair of the IORAG and is coordinating the ongoing work of the Sub-Committee and the EGMASTC.