Nov 15, Colombo: At the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius Maneesh Gobin, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry will participate at the 3rd Ministerial Conference on Maritime Security and Safety in the Western Indian Ocean in Mauritius on 16 November 2023.

The West Indian Ocean is an important global trade and commercial hub with multiple inter connections with the global ocean space. The region faces a series of threats to maritime security such as illicit traffic and smuggling, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, human trafficking, and marine pollution, among other things.

In this context, Mauritius has taken the initiative to convene a Ministerial Conference on Maritime Security and Safety in the Western Indian Ocean, 2 editions of which have been held in 2018 and 2019. It serves as a platform for a high-level dialogue which will lead to concrete actions for improving maritime capability in the region.

During his stay in Mauritius, Minister Sabry will also engage in a bilateral meeting with Minister Gobin aiming at fostering the close ties between the two countries and visit the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Secretariat in Mauritius in his capacity as the Chair of the IORA Council of Ministers to discuss the future direction of IORA, with the focus on implementing of the decisions made at the 25th Committee of Senior Officials and the 23rd Council of Ministers meetings which Sri Lanka hosted from 9-11 October 2023 at which Sri Lanka assumed the Chairmanship of IORA.