The Indian Ocean Commission (french: Commission de l'Océan Indien, COI) is an intergovernmental organisation that links African

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

nations:

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

(an

overseas region The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

), and

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

. There are also seven observers:

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, the

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...

, the

Sovereign Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. The IOC was created in 1982 in

Port-Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's eco ...

, Mauritius, and institutionalised in 1984 by the Victoria Agreement (Seychelles).

Historical background

The IOC was created in 1982 in Port Louis, by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Mauritius, Madagascar and Seychelles. In 1984, the General Cooperation Agreement signed in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

(Seychelles) institutionalised the organization. In 1986,

and France (Réunion Island), joined the organisation. In 1989, the IOC was provided with a General Secretariat. The headquarters of the IOC is located in Mauritius.

Development

Since the early 1990s, the IOC has been implementing cooperation projects in environmental management and preservation with the support of the

and French cooperation. Over the course of these projects, the IOC has acquired recognised expertise in the management of marine and coastal environments, fisheries and the preservation of biodiversity. At the beginning of the 2000s, the IOC constantly advocated the specific needs of developing islands, particularly in conferences organised by the United Nations. In September 2005, the IOC requested observer status at the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. In 2016, the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

becomes the first observer member of the organisation. It is followed in 2017 by the

, the

and the

. In 2018, the IOC assumes the chairmanship of the Contact Group on

Piracy off the Coast of Somalia Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel and Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding areas and has a long and troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. I ...

(CGPCS) for a period of two years. In 2020,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

takes over the chairmanship. However, the IOC continues to serve as the secretariat of the CGPCS. In 2019, at a ministerial retreat in Moroni (Comoros), the Moroni Declaration on the Future of the IOC is adopted. This text deals with the modernisation of the IOC. During the 34th Council of Ministers of March 6, 2020 in Seychelles, the Victoria Agreement, the founding text of the IOC, is revised. In 2020,

and the

become observer members. The IOC's project portfolio has expanded considerably: political stability, public health, gender, mobility, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, regional connectivity (digital, air, maritime), trade negotiations, maritime security, food security and agricultural development, fisheries and fisheries surveillance,

climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of greenhouse gases or Carbon sink, removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caus ...

, sustainable coastal zone management, waste management, use of earth observation technologies for environmental monitoring, renewable energy, culture, etc. The IOC has a dozen technical and financial partners, among which the

and the

French Development Agency The French Development Agency (french: Agence française de développement, AFD) is a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government. It works to fight poverty and promote sustainable development. This pub ...

Members

Member States

Observing members

Administration

The IOC is at the service of its Member States.

Bodies

The Council of Ministers (composed of the foreign ministers of the member countries) provides the strategic and political direction of the IOC. It is the supreme decision-making body of the organisation. The chairmanship of the IOC Council of Ministers is annual and rotating (in alphabetical order of member countries). The Committee of Permanent Liaison Officers (composed of senior officials from member states) is responsible for monitoring the implementation of these decisions. The General Secretariat, based in Ebene, Mauritius, is responsible for implementing the decisions of the decision-making bodies. It develops and manages cooperation projects. It is responsible for mobilizing resources from the donor community. The revised Victoria Agreement (2020) makes the Summit of Heads of State and Government a statutory body of the organisation. The IOC Summit will now be held every five years to set the strategic and political direction of the organisation.

Secretaries-General

Objectives and areas of intervention

As an intergovernmental organisation of cooperation, the Indian Ocean Commission promotes peace and stability, maritime security, food security, environmental conservation, fisheries,

climate change adaptation Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...

, the interests of island developing states, public health and cultural expression. Its action is thus in line with the international frameworks to which its member states are signatories, such as the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development to 2030 and the Global Climate Agreement, among others. In 2020, the IOC is implementing 14 cooperation projects. Over the period 2020–2025, it will manage a total project budget of approximately 130 million euros.

References

External links

*
World Bank Regional Institutions
* {{Authority control Indian Ocean Intergovernmental organizations Organizations established in 1982 United Nations General Assembly observers 1982 establishments in Mauritius