Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves Dhaka for Jakarta today on a three-day official visit to Indonesia to attend the Leaders’ Summit in Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
The IORA is an international organisation consisting of 21 coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean.
During the visit, Sheikh Hasina will also hold bilateral meetings with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. “A Biman Bangladesh Airlines VVIP flight carrying the premier and her entourage members will take off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka for Jakarta on Monday morning,” PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told BSS. The flight is scheduled to land at Halim Pardana Kusuma International Airport, Jakarta at 3pm local time. Bangladesh Ambassador to Indonesia Major General Azmal Kabir and representatives of the host government would receive the prime minister at the airport.
After the reception at the airport, a ceremonial motorcade would escort Sheikh Hasina to Hotel Shangri-La at Central Jakarta City, a special capital region of Jakarta, where she will be staying during her visit to Indonesia.
On the first day of her tour, the Bangladesh premier would attend the Leaders’ Welcoming Dinner at the Plenary Hall of Jakarta Convention Center (JCC). On Tuesday, Sheikh Hasina will join the opening ceremony of the summit at the Assembly Hall- 3 of the Jakarta Convention Center in the morning.
She will later attend the opening session of the summit on “Adoption of the Agenda and Programme of Work”.
The opening session would be followed by two sessions-one on the Summary of Reports and another on “Adoption and Signing of the outcome document of the Summit”. The Bangladesh prime minister will join both sessions. Sheikh Hasina will attend the general debate on “Strengthening Maritime Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous Indian Ocean Rim” and deliver her statement in the event.
She will join the social lunch for the heads of delegation and hold bilateral meetings with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. She is expected to attend the closing ceremony of the summit. After concluding her three-day visit, Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to depart Halim Pardana Kusuma International Airport, Jakarta for Dhaka 10.30 am Indonesia time on Wednesday.
The Biman flight carrying the premier is scheduled to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka in the afternoon (BST) the same day. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, PM’s Principal Secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim, among others, will accompany the prime minister during the tour. Besides, a 60-member business delegation, headed by FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed will accompany her. Indonesia, as the current chair of IORA, will host the first-ever IORA Leaders’ Summit on March 5-7 in Jakarta under the theme “Strengthening Maritime Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous Indian Ocean”.
The summit will bring together the leaders of the 21 IORA member states and its 7 dialogue partners as well as other special invitees and guests for promoting cooperation and closer interaction among them.
It is expected to be a “game-changer” for regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean, and in keeping with the challenges that the region faces, aims to forge a revitalized and sustainable architecture in multi-dimensional engagement. The summit is set to propose on adoption of strategic outcome documents entitled the “IORA Concord” and the “IORA Action Plan” as well as the “IORA Declaration on Countering Violent Extremism leading to Terrorism”. These strategic documents reflect IORA’s vision for the future.
The organisation was first established as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative in Mauritius in March 1995 and was formally launched on 6-7 March 1997 by the conclusion of a multilateral treaty known as the Charter of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation. The members of the forum are Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the UAE and Yemen.
The forum has seven dialogue partners. They are China, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the USA.
The coordinating secretariat of IORA is located at Ebene, Mauritius.
