 The Indian Ocean is the eastern boundary of the African continent, reaches out to the Middle East via the Persian Gulf, washes the shores of the Indian subcontinent, and links up with the South China Seas. It carries half of the world's container ships, one-third of bulk cargo traffic, and two-thirds of the world's oil shipments. The Indian Ocean is the lifeline of the world's trade and economy, and has been so since time immemorial. Cultural and commercial interaction continued among the people of the Indian Ocean throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, producing fascinating racial and social mixes. With such historical ties, it is only natural that there should be an attempt to once again rekindle the associations of the past in order to create a firm basis for the future. As the world began to change a few years ago, the idea of the Indian Ocean Rim was born. An initiative of developing economies bound by history and with a common vision of South-South cooperation. It was an idea waiting to happen, and struck a chord all across the ocean. This is really an idea, this time has come, because various factors in the past have prevented this formation of such a grouping. But now, of course, the world has changed in a dramatic and a fundamental way, and especially those countries involved around the Rim, the Indian Ocean Rim. So I think this is really an exciting venture. This was no utopian vision, but one based on sound economic reasoning. Despite accounting for 31% of the world's population, the Indian Ocean region contributes less than 11% of global trade. Intra-trade among regions is low, and most goods find their way to Europe and North America. This is despite the fact that these countries boast of enormous natural financial and human resources. These synergies can be leveraged to generate tremendous value addition and wealth, to create a growth multiplier effect for the 1.6 billion people who live in these countries. This is the grand vision behind the Rim idea. In 1995, a core group of seven countries, known as the M7, came together in Mauritius for an inter-governmental meeting. These were South Africa, India, Oman, Kenya, Mauritius, Singapore and Australia. Subsequently, seven more joined the grouping, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Yemen, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia. It took two years to plan and coordinate the association process, and in March 1997, foreign ministers of the 14 member countries met in Mauritius to adopt the charter of the association. The charter clearly indicates that the IOR arc seeks to build and expand understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation through a consensus-based, evolutionary and non-intrusive approach. The economic and human resource development have therefore emerged as the key pillars of the association. Each member has something to offer to the other members, and such cooperation can only lead to greater business opportunities. The membership of the Rim has countries like Singapore, which is a financial center, India, which has a large number of technically qualified personnel, South Africa and Australia, which have natural resources and Oman, which has petroleum and natural gas. These are very early days for an association which is poised to become a significant example of regional cooperation. But more than business and investment, the Indian Ocean Rim Association is about a community of people linked together by history as much by geography and about the retrieval of that common heritage. For India, which has a long coastline, and for many other countries which have historic and economic links with this vast ocean, the emerging association of regional cooperation has tremendous significance. But most importantly, the association is about people coming together. The Indian Ocean was, and will always be, a spectrum of cultures and traditions, colors and costumes, races and religions. All of these lived and worked in harmony for centuries. There is no reason why they cannot do so again in the future.