Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo will lead the South African delegation to the biannual Ministerial meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ACP) in Maputo, Mozambique from 29-31 March 1999. The Ministerial meeting will, inter alia, deliberate on issues relating to exact geographical boundaries of the Indian Ocean which will determine which additional countries will be eligible for membership. Mozambique will take over the two-year rotating chairmanship of the Council of Ministers of the IOR-ACP from Mauritius at this meeting.
The Association was formed to promote economic and political cooperation in the Indian Ocean region, bringing together representatives of government, business and academia. The following are the fourteen members of the IOR-ACP: Australia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Yemen.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
PRETORIA
29 MARCH 1999