Republic of Mauritius- Foreign Affairs Minister attends Extraordinary Council Meeting of the Indian Ocean Commission

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, who led the Mauritian delegation attended the Meeting that was held at the Hilton Hotel in Beau Vallon, Mahé.

During his intervention, the Minister called for the establishment of a special regional fund to help the IOC’s African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States in mobilising resources needed to observe electoral processes in these countries.

Moreover, the Extraordinary Council Meeting took note of a possible contribution by the Agence française de développement (AFD) to set up a programme on peace and stability for the Indian Ocean region.  In fact, despite a decline in the number of pirate attacks, maritime piracy still remains a major constraint in the socioeconomic development of coastal countries on the African continent as well as that of IOC Member States.

It is recalled that the first edition of the Ministerial Conference on Maritime Security, hosted in Mauritius last year, had seen the participation of some 250 representatives coming from 23 countries and 15 regional and international organisations.

The Ministerial Conference had been convened to define a regional maritime security and safety policy in the South West Indian Ocean region.  It had also largely contributed to the development of a maritime architecture in the South West Indian Ocean region along with the adoption of a Declaration on Maritime Security in Western Indian Ocean, entitled the Mauritius Declaration on Maritime Security, and the elaboration of a Roadmap on maritime security.