From the 30th – 31st April 2024, High Commissioner Lalatiana Accouche participated in the 26th Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) which was hosted by Sri Lanka, the present IORA Chairmanship, in a virtual mode.

Participants from the 23 Member States, IORA Specialized Agencies and the IORA Secretariat focused their discussions on the theme of “Strengthening Regional Architecture: Reinforcing Indian Ocean Identity,”.

During the meetings, High Commissioner Accouche highlighted Seychelles’ role as the Coordinating Country for the European Union as a Dialogue partner to IORA as well as Seychelles’ commitment to the Association’s values.  She also shared Seychelles’ priority areas as the country presently holding the Chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and briefed the meeting on the Ocean Knowledge Education Programme project being undertaken by Seychelles, with the aim of bolstering the Blue Economy concept in the IORA region, particularly through sustainable ocean management education for 12 to 13-year-olds.

The objectives of the CSO’s centre on establishing regional economic cooperation priorities and coordinating work programs for specific actions and projects.

The IORA Council of Ministers is expected to take place in the last quarter of this year. Seychelles joined IORA in November 2011.