UPSC Civil Services 2015 Prelims General Studies Paper I

IOR-ARC is a regional cooperation initiative of the Indian Ocean Rim countries which was established in Mauritius in March 1997 with the aim of promoting economic and technical cooperation. IOR-ARC is the only pan-Indian ocean grouping. It brings together countries from three continents having different sizes, economic strengths, and a wide diversity of languages, cultures. It aims to create a platform for trade, socioeconomic and cultural cooperation in the Indian Ocean rim area, which constitutes a population of about two billion people. Presently it has 19 members- Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, UAE and Yemen.
Six priority areas were identified to take forward the cooperation under IOR-ARC: (i) Maritime Safety and Security; (ii) Trade and Investment Facilitation; (iii) Fisheries Management; (iv) Disaster Risk Reduction; (v) Academic and S&T Cooperation; and (vi) Tourism Promotion and Cultural Exchanges.