The 19th Indian Ocean Rim Association COM (Council of Ministers) meeting was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

• The IORA is a broad platform that connects the world’s most dynamic regions of south, west and south east Asia, Africa and Oceania through seas.
• India is the largest contributor to IORA Special Fund. Recently India contributed 1 million USD to the fund. India also shares expertise to strengthen the association
• India hosted the first Indian Ocean Dialogue in 2015. It was held at Kochi and the Kochi Consensus was released. It focused on maritime security challenges, information sharing, cooperation in disaster relief and economic cooperation.