S van der Merwe: IOR-ARC Ambassadorial Working Group Meeting

18 May 2006

Your Excellency, Deputy Minister Sheykhattar
Executive Director of the IOR-ARC Secretariat, Mr. Samsudeen
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners and other
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Ambassador Matjila and colleagues from the Department of Foreign
Affairs
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen

I have the pleasure on behalf of the Government and people of South Africa
to welcome you all to this first meeting of the Heads of Diplomatic Missions of
the IOR-ARC Working Group. I would especially like to extend a warm welcome to
His Excellency, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs of the Islamic Republic of
Iran, Mr. Sheykhattar to Pretoria and trust that he would have a fruitful visit
to our country. On the same note, I would also like to welcome Executive
Director Samsudeen to South Africa as I believe that this is his first visit to
our country in this capacity. I hope that both of you will enjoy your stay and
that this will be the first of many visits and engagements.

Ambassadors and High Commissioners present here today are testimony of the
warm and ever-increasing relationships we have between us. You have done
excellent work in fostering bilateral relations between our respective
countries and I know you will do the same in promoting our multilateral
relations through forums such as the IOR-ARC.

South African foreign policy is no longer only about consolidating political
relations with countries of the world. South Africa's foreign policy is
increasingly about translating strong political relations into strong economic
relations that will contribute to our vision of creating a better South Africa
for all those who live within it.

We must use the opportunity that the IOR-ARC provides for regional
integration and co-operation, as it is a valuable platform for enhancing
economic interaction in the region. We need to strive to use the IOR-ARC as a
key to unlock the potential of the India Ocean Rim, in particular enhancing
trade and investment flows, trade liberalisation as well as the sustainable
exploitation of the vast tourism potential of the Association's members. Since
its establishment in 1997, the IOR-ARC has served as a significant co-operation
platform for those countries of the South whose borders are washed by the
waters of the Indian Ocean.

As we approach the 10th year anniversary of the IOR-ARC in 2007, we need to
start asking those uncomfortable questions about what we are working to achieve
with this organisation. We need an organisation that is more relevant to the
real needs of our people and one that addresses the critical areas of
development referred by the United Nations (UN) Secretary General in his report
"In Larger Freedom", namely:

* freedom from want;
* freedom from fear;
* freedom to live with dignity; as well as
* reform of the United Nations.

Such an organisation should therefore be more than a platform for sharing
ideas but serve as a vehicle towards producing tangible results that have a
qualitative impact on peoples' lives.

We have a common goal in addressing poverty in our respective countries and
in the South generally. We must serve as active agents of change contributing
to the betterment of the lives of our people. We need to remain firm in our
resolve to eradicate poverty, creating a just and equal world within a
rules-based international system. We also need to act with the necessary
decisiveness and speed.

You will recall that on the occasion of the Sixth Meeting of the Council of
Ministers held in Tehran three months ago, we decided to establish this Working
Group of Heads of Diplomatic Missions based in Pretoria with the purpose of
reviewing the periodic work programme presented by the Chair of the Council. At
that meeting we supported that notion of a strong leadership role for the Chair
of the Association, and I am pleased to see that our work is being given the
necessary direction, leadership and momentum as evidenced by the Deputy
Minister's present here today. We also decided that the first meeting of the
Working Group should take place here in Pretoria within three months of the
Council of Ministers Meeting. In this regard, I would like to congratulate the
Chair, the Executive Director and you as members of this working group for
convening this occasion within the agreed timeframes! Always a good start!

The mandate of this working group as discussed in Tehran in February was,
amongst others, to make proposals and share ideas for the 10th Anniversary of
the IOR-ARC next year in view of envisaged IOR-ARC Economic Summit that is to
be held. This should enable us to assess critically whether we have responded
with the necessary seriousness to the challenges facing us. Put in different
words: Have we achieved the objectives that we have set ourselves since the
inception of this organisation?

It should be remembered that the Indian Ocean Rim represents a population of
close to two billion people, making it desirable destination for investment
flows, market opportunities and as a tourism destination. At previous meetings
of the IOR-ARC we identified a number of opportunities for niche collaborative
projects that we could exploit to the mutual benefit of our countries and
peoples. These include fisheries; mitigation of natural disasters; preparation
for epidemics; Preferential Trade Agreements; and developing and updating of
intra-IOR-ARC trade and investment flows.

This working group, therefore, has a huge responsibility in carrying forward
not only the monitoring of progress and speedy implementation of projects and
programmes of the Association, but also to contribute to fulfilling, in the
spirit of multilateralism, the Association's founding ideals of increased co
operation and shared benefits to all.

A key element of making this a reality is the creation of the necessary
institutional capacity. In this regard, South Africa would like to re-state its
commitment to the strengthening of the Rim's institutional capacity by
seconding an official to Mauritius during this year to augment the capacity of
the Secretariat to deliver our joint initiatives.

Equally important is that this inter-continental initiative is not seen in
isolation but as complimentary to other inter-regional and international
initiatives such as the New Africa Asia Strategic Partnership. Integrating
ourselves in such a manner will guarantee that we do not remain on the margins
of key global developmental initiatives, but play a key role promoting and
realising the aspirations of our people.

Your Excellencies

The IOR-ARC Council of Ministers has requested you to ensure that the
potential of this Association is exploited fully to the maximum mutual benefit
of all our people. I am confident that you will be able to respond with the
necessary seriousness to the task before you. I wish you fruitful
discussions.

I thank you

Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
18 May 2006
Source: SAPA