Delegates beat drums during the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) summit in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, March 7, 2017. The IORA summit was opened here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Du Yu)
JAKARTA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Leaders and senior representatives of at the 20th summit of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on Tuesday signed the official document, dubbed the Jakarta Concord, pledging to build a stable, well-being region.
In the document entitled "Promoting Regional Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous Indian Ocean", IORA member countries pledged their commitments to build Indian Ocean into a stable, well-being region through cooperation in various sectors with several priorities need to be addressed on.
The document serves as foundations to guide 21 IORA member countries in tackling the regional and global challenges, leads to creation of improved cooperation among member countries in the future.
Priorities include promoting maritime security, trade and investment improvement, promote and develop a sustainable and accountable fishery sector, improve the management to anticipate disaster risk, strengthen cooperation on knowledge and science, encouraging tourism industry and cultural exchange, promote 'blue economy' drive and improving women's role in the economy.
Besides signing the Jakarta Concord, dignitaries also approved IORA declaration on terrorism and extremism prevention.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that the presence of representatives at the summit have expressed the eagerness of IORA member countries to seek international cooperation for the interests of each respective nation.
"Each nation should prioritize its nationalism. But nationalism would not survive without internationalism," the president said in his remarks to open the leaders' summit session here, advising on the need to establish international cooperation to address national interests.
Indonesia Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that delegations attending the summit have also approved the action plans document to materialize the priorities set in Jakarta Concord.
The document stipulates steps and measures that need to be implemented to address the priorities' short and long term targets from 2017 to 2021, the minister added.
The IORA delegates also agreed to exercise tolerance and diversity in relations between one another in Indian Ocean region.
Indonesia holds the rotating chair of IORA this year. The regional organization constitutes member countries whose shores were washed by Indian Ocean waters.
Those member countries are Indonesia, Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen.
The regional organization embraces seven dialogue partners comprised of Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Egypt, Japan and China.
IORA aims to enhance trade and economy cooperation among member countries so as to further prosper 2.7 billion of population inhabiting the region.
