Bangalore: Concerned at growing sea piracy in
the Indian Ocean, particularly off the Horn of Africa, the
Indian Ocean RIM - Association for Regional Cooperation
(IOR-ARC) on Tuesday pledged to jointly combat the menace through
sharing of information and technical assistance.
In the Bengaluru Declaration of the 19-member regional
grouping, it said it shared concern over the prevailing
situation regarding maritime security in the Indian Ocean,
particularly at the growing level of piracy off the Horn of
Africa which posed a threat to international and regional
navigation, maritime commerce and the safety of sea farer`s.
The India chaired grouping of which Seychelles became the
19th member today fully supported the international efforts at
the UN and the several initiatives at the regional level as
well as the Contact Group on piracy of the coast off Somalia,
which is coordinating anti-piracy efforts.
"We committed ourselves to cooperate fully through sharing
of information and through technical assistance to jointly
combat this menace," the declaration adopted at the Council of
Ministers` Meeting of the 11th IOR-ARC here said.
"We noted that stabilisation of Somalia will contribute to
dealing with piracy in the region. As members take practical
steps consistent with international law to combat piracy, we
agreed that IOR-RIM could serve as an effective vehicle for
sharing information, experience and best practices," it said.
At the Bangalore meet, India took over as the Chair of the
grouping which also comprises Yemen, Australia, Bangladesh,
Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka,
Tanzania, Thailand, the UAE and Seychelles.
PTI
