The Republic of Mozambique hosted the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Annual Trade Dialogue in Maputo, Mozambique, on 1–2 December 2025, held in hybrid format. 

The Annual Trade Dialogue was inaugurated by the Minister of Economy of Mozambique, His Excellency, Basílio Zefanias Muhate. The IORA Secretary-General, Mr. Sanjiv Ranjan delivered the opening address virtually. Participants were from the public and private sectors of 14 Member States: Australia, Bangladesh, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Madagascar, Mauritius, Malaysia, Mozambique, Oman, Somalia, Tanzania, and Thailand and 3 Dialogue Partners: Egypt, Italy and Türkiye.

The Dialogue provided a platform for IORA Member States, Dialogue Partners, and experts, including those from the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), to review global and regional trade developments.

The platform also aimed to raise awareness among governments and businesses about regional cooperation opportunities in trade and investment, to deepen public-private cooperation, and to facilitate trade opportunities among IORA Member States.

Topics covered included trade flows, agreements, and barriers to market access; the green transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient global economy; the opportunities of the Blue Economy for sustainable ocean-based industries and attracting financing; and ways to promote Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The IORA Annual Trade Dialogue provided a timely opportunity to take stock of current developments against the backdrop of an unstable global trading environment marked by economic uncertainty, shifting geopolitical dynamics, rising trade barriers, and the impacts of climate change.

As the third-largest ocean, intricately connected through vital trade routes, the Indian Ocean commanded major sea-lanes that carried half of the world’s container ships, one-third of global bulk cargo, and two-thirds of oil shipments. In this context, the Dialogue served as a crucial platform for strengthening intra-regional economic ties and enhancing the region’s capacity to attract and sustain productive foreign investment, including in the blue economy. Key outcomes of the Dialogue included reports on discussions and action plans.

The concept of establishing an Annual Trade Dialogue was first raised at the IORA Modernising Trade in the Indian Ocean Rim Conference held in Durban, South Africa in 2019.