Government Proposes Business Travel Card for Indian Ocean Countries
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The Chairman of the Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF), who is also the Deputy Head of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Division at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, Yugi Prayanto, has proposed to introduce a business travel card for all members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
“The IORBF needs to come up with a concrete initiative to improve economic cooperation and business in the Indian Ocean region,” Yugi said here on Friday.
He pointed out that the IORBF meeting, led by Indonesia and South Africa, aims to improve interaction and cooperation among IORAs businessmen and its dialogue partners in order to develop cooperation in economy, trade and investment in the Indian Ocean region.
“The IORBF agrees that economic cooperation opportunities need to be explored further and these include the IORA Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IORA-CEPA ) and IORA Business Travel Card (IBTC),” Yugi noted.
These initiatives are supported by IORA member countries, among others, South Africa, Australia, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Mauritius.
According to him, the forum agrees that the establishment of IORA-CEPA is very important to improve economic cooperation, trade and investment in the Indian Ocean region.
The IORA-CEPA, Yugi pointed out, is expected to become an umbrella for IORA economic cooperation in order to increase trade and investment, open market access, develop industry as well as strengthen regional value chain and structural reforms.
Meanwhile, the IBTC, he underlined, is expected to ensure mobility of entrepreneurs and facilitate business interaction among the IORA member states.
“The IBTC in time will strengthen people-to-people contact, including business-to-business links among IORA member nations,” Yugi stressed, adding that the IORBF really hopes these two initiatives will be discussed at the 20th Anniversary Commemorative Summit of IORA meeting in March 2017.
He added that the agreements reached at this meeting will be reported to the Committee of Senior Officials on October 25-26, 2016 and to the Council of Ministers on October 27, 2016.
Forty businessmen from various IORA member countries are participating in this 22nd IORBF meeting.The IORA focuses on economic, trade and investment cooperation. It comprises 21 countries, namely, South Africa, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Comoros and Yemen.Australia passed on the chairmanship of IORA to Indonesia in 2015. Indonesia is the IORA Chairman for 2015-2017.
Questions & Answers
Q.What is the primary goal of the proposed business travel card initiative?
What is the primary goal of the proposed business travel card initiative?
The Indian Ocean Business Travel Card (IBTC) is intended to facilitate the movement of entrepreneurs and improve business interactions among the countries belonging to the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). It aims to strengthen both people-to-people and business-to-business connections within the member nations.
Q.Which specific countries are supporting these new initiatives?
Which specific countries are supporting these new initiatives?
The initiatives, including the business travel card and the economic partnership agreement, are supported by several IORA member countries. These include South Africa, Australia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Mauritius.
Q.When are these proposals expected to be discussed at a major IORA meeting?
When are these proposals expected to be discussed at a major IORA meeting?
The proposals for the business travel card and the comprehensive economic partnership agreement are hoped to be discussed at the 20th Anniversary Commemorative Summit of the IORA meeting. This significant event is scheduled to take place in March 2017.
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