[3] The IORA is a regional forum, tripartite in nature, bringing together representatives of Government, Business and Academia, for promoting co-operation and closer interaction among them.

In March 1997, the IOR-ARC was formally launched, with seven additional countries as members: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Yemen, Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique.

[8] IORA members undertake projects for economic co-operation relating to trade facilitation and liberalisation, promotion of foreign investment, scientific and technological exchanges, tourism, movement of natural persons and service providers on a non-discriminatory basis; and the development of infrastructure and human resources, poverty alleviation, promotion of maritime transport and related matters, cooperation in the fields of fisheries trade, research and management, aquaculture, education and training, energy, IT, health, protection of the environment, agriculture, disaster management.

[10] In addition, IORA includes a "maritime safety" initiative that is concerned with training, transport, equipment related issues, and assistance in distress situations.

[13] The Indian Ocean Region is prone to disasters both natural and man-made, such as cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and tidal surges; and oil spills, fires, leakage of poisonous substances, and illegal dumping, respectively.

[14] IORA's Disaster Risk Management Plan is multidisciplinary, involving national governments, non-governmental organizations, regional and international partners, and the private sector, among others.

Though IORA's large membership affords it with the ability to understand perspectives of a wide array of nations in the Indian Ocean Region, it also creates differences in objectives, in what successful maritime security cooperation would look like, among member states.

[33] The aims of the FSU are to enhance cooperation among member states in regards to fisheries and to conduct research to manage and protect fish stocks.

[33] Critically, the FSU is exclusively dialogue-based: it does not make decisions or even provide advice on the management of fisheries or issues such as IUU fishing.

[32] The center uses its resources to address issues ranging from disaster response to creating a gene banking database for medicinal plants.