ISLAMABAD: The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and the Research Institute for Indian Ocean Economics (RIIO) inked a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Kunming, China, to establish a multilateral cooperative network of think tanks of the Indian Ocean Region.
The initiative was launched during the eighth RIIO international conference on ‘Common Development of China and Indian Ocean Region’ organized with the title of ‘Challenges and Prospects of Blue Economy Cooperation in the Indian Ocean: from the Perspective of Security and Development’, which was hosted by RIIO-YUFE.
Apart from IPS, the event was attended by high officials of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India; Center for Economic and Social Development, Myanmar; Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh; and Pathfinder Foundation, Sri Lanka.
The participating institutions have also inked a letter of intent to become part of the network after the required formalities.
Network’s Responsibilities
This network will work for the policy analysis and review of the Indian Ocean’s strategic matters, carrying out joint activities, promoting shared development between China and the Indian Ocean region through discussion and research, and publishing books, white papers, research papers, articles, and reports as an outcome, in a bid to strengthen different areas of cooperation like the foreign policy and economic relations of Indian Ocean economies, investment environment in Indian Ocean economies, and any other such matters having bilateral or multilateral implications for each nation.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman IPS Khalid Rahman said that the economies, cultural identities, and livelihoods of the countries and people around IOR are vitally linked to it.
For continuous, proactive, and coordinated growth of the blue economies, a greater focus on maritime-centric policies, education and research, knowledge and information sharing, establishing networks and mechanisms, integrated planning on regional scales as well as within the states, and robust governance involving community, industry, and other stakeholders including the governments themselves, is required.
