Sri Lanka was elected Vice Chair of the Council of Ministers (CoM) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) at the 20th Council of Ministers Meeting, virtually hosted by the United Arab Emirates recently. Sri Lanka will take over the Chair from 2023 to 2025.
Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, leading the Sri Lanka delegation, thanked Member States for placing their confidence in Sri Lanka when its application for the position of Vice Chair was endorsed at the meeting.
The CoM was preceded by the 22nd Session of the Committee of Senior Officials (CoS) on December 15 and 16. The Sri Lanka delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof Jayanath Colombage.
Foreign Minister Gunawardena told the meeting that Sri Lanka believes that only a safe, secure and peaceful Indian Ocean can bring about economic prosperity and that this notion emanates from Sri Lanka’s commitment to promote the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace. He said that only continuous commitment and collaborative efforts of all Member States and Dialogue Partners could help achieve and uphold this UN Resolution.