9 March 2007
Tehran: Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad today, Friday, 9 March 2007,
concludes his two legged visit to the gulf region during which he visited Qatar
and Iran.
In Iran Deputy Minister Pahad led a senior South African delegation to the
7th Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC)
Ministerial Meeting from Wednesday to Thursday, 7 to 8 March 2007. The meeting
agreed that the priority areas of the IOR-ARC would be to:
* have a clear vision of the future of the association
* secure ways and means to promote regional integration
* and enhance the capacity of the secretariat.
In order to enhance regional integration the meeting decided to reinforce
the mechanism of the clustering approach through which a group of member states
could implement specific projects based on their interests and priorities.
In this regard the association has prioritised:
1. trade investment and finance
2. education and technology
3. fisheries
4. tourism
5. natural disaster management
6. Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The meeting also identified capacity building as a priority for the
association.
Indonesia reiterated its offer in respect of the Training Programme in Micro
Finance and will host a workshop on micro finance within the next six
months.
In addition Iran will host two workshops on information technology and
standardisation.
India will also host a workshop on Entrepreneurship Development for Growth
of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises.
The meeting also agreed to set up a Special Fund from which funds will be
disbursed to various approved projects as grants, with the view to pushing back
the frontiers of poverty and underdevelopment for the peoples of the member
states.
Accordingly the Dialogue Partners (China, Japan, France, Egypt, and the
International Tourist Organisation) committed themselves to supporting the
implementation of priority programmes of the association.
On conclusion Deputy Minister Pahad said, "The IOR-ARC is an important
initiative for trade, investment, tourism, capacity building, micro financing
and the growth of small, medium and micro enterprises and urged the South
African private sector and civil society to exploit the excellent potential of
the association."
Deputy Minister Pahad will return to South Africa later today, 9 March
2007.
For further information, please contact:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
9 March 2007
