The United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosted the 11th Bi-annual Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) Meeting from 15 – 16 June 2021. The IORA Chair, and the Secretariat, welcomed IORA’s 23 Member States to the 11th Bi-annual CSO Meeting which was held virtually due to the conditions of the pandemic throughout the world. The Senior Officials intended to discuss ways in coordinating efforts to achieve IORA’s vision for a prosperous Indian Ocean region as outlined in IORA Action Plan (2017 – 2021). The Bi-annual meeting set the pace to achieve the remaining objectives for 2021, which is to be discussed and adopted at the 21st Council of Ministers (COM) later this year. The meeting agenda highlighted various topics regarding the strategic objectives of the Association, and the progress of charting the way forward for preparing the new IORA Action Plan (2022 – 2026), including engagement with IORA’s Dialogue Partners and international organisations, and finalising the criteria for selecting the new Secretary-General of IORA.
As usual, the Director of the Regional Center for Science and Technology Transfer also presented last year's activity report as well as her proposed program for next year. It is worth mentioning that the country of South Africa specifically supported the center's programs.(The full report of the center is attached for your kind consideration.)
This CSO was chaired by H.E. Abdul Nasser Al Shaali, from the United Arab Emirates. The UAE assumed the position of the IORA Chair in November 2019 during the 19th COM and will hand it over to the People's Republic of Bangladesh later this year.
The decision report of this meeting is also attached hereto for your kind consideration.
