Context: India has been approved as an observer state for Indian Ocean Commission.It can also be seen as a deepening strategic partnership with France as well as its expanding ties with the Vanilla Islands.
Significance of this move

• This move has strategic importance as the Commission is an important regional institution in the Western Indian Ocean. It facilitates collective engagement with the islands in Western Indian Ocean that are becoming strategically significant. It boosts cooperation with France that has strong presence in the Western Indian Ocean and lends depth to India's SAGAR policy of PM Narendra Modi 2015.
• The move also strengthens western flank of the Indo-Pacific and is a stepping stone to security The move also strengthens western flank of the Indo-Pacific and is a stepping stone to security cooperation with East Africa.
• The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is a strategic sub-theatre of the Indian Ocean linking the Southeastern coast of Africa to the wider Indian Ocean and beyond. It is home to one of the key chokepoints in the Indian Ocean- the Mozambique Channel.
• This channel is being watched more closely as the U.S.­Iran tensions threaten the Strait of Hormuz. 
• With the decision, India will join China, which was made an observer in 2016,Given China’s growing presence in the region, India hopes to increase its naval presence and gain support for its maritime projects across the Indo Pacific, beginning at East African shores.  

About Indian Ocean Commission(IOC)

• It is an intergovernmental organization that was created in 1982 at Port Louis, Mauritius and institutionalized in 1984 by the Victoria Agreement in Seychelles.
• It is a five-nation grouping in the Western Indian Ocean, which includes Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius and French Reunion.
• Notwithstanding their different characteristics (Reunion as a French overseas region; Mauritius and Seychelles as Middle-Income Countries whereas Comoros and Madagascar are amongst the Least-Developed Countries), the five islands share geographic proximity, historical and demographic relationships, natural resources and common development issues.
• IOC's principal mission is to strengthen the ties of friendship between the countries and to be a platform of solidarity for the entire population of the African Indian Ocean region.
• It's mission also includes development, through projects related to sustainability for the region, aimed at protecting the region, improving the living conditions of the populations and preserving the various natural resources that the countries depend on. 
• Being an organisation regrouping only island states, the IOC has usually championed the cause of small island states in regional and international foram.