Pretoria - International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim will today participate in a high level meeting of the India Ocean Rim Association Cooperation (IOR-ARC).
The priority of the cooperation is to promote the sustained growth and balanced development of the region and of the Member States, and to create common ground for regional economic co-operation.
Members of the IOR-ARC include India; Australia; Indonesia; Iran; Kenya; Madagascar; Malaysia; Mauritius; Mozambique and South Africa as a founding member.
Friday's meeting which is being held in Gurgaon, a suburb of New Delhi, is the 12th meeting of the Council of Ministers with South Africa continuing to play a leading role in the IOR-ARC.
"The visit takes place within the context of South Africa promoting the African Agenda and strengthening South-South Cooperation with a view to creating political, economic and social convergence against poverty, under-development and marginalization," said the department.
The department added that the IOR-ARC Member States include some key economic anchor states, which are engines of economic growth in their respective regions. The Trade Route Optimization in the Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the earth's surface, boasting a coastline of 66.526 km.
"The significance of this trade route presents several opportunities for a coastal state such as South Africa, particularly from a trade facilitation vantage point."
Ebrahim is supported by senior officials from the Department as well as those from the Departments of Transport and Tourism.
The deputy minister arrived in India on Thursday.
