Minister of State in the External Affairs Ministry V Muraleedharan reached Abu Dhabi today to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) meeting beginning tomorrow. <br />''<br />''In a tweet, Muraleedharan said he looks forward to fruitful deliberations to strengthen regional cooperation with fellow Indian Ocean littoral states. <br />'' <br />'' The Minister of State for External Affairs is leading the Indian delegation to attend the 19th IORA Council of Ministers meeting. The theme is "Promoting a Shared Destiny and Path to Prosperity in the Indian Ocean."<br />''  <br />'' During this week's ministerial meeting, the United Arab Emirates will take over from South Africa as IORA Chairman, for a two year period running to 2021. Founded in 1997, the Association, whose headquarters are in Mauritius, is an inter-governmental organisation with 22 member states as well as nine dialogue partners. <br />'' <br />'' These partners are countries situated outside the region but who have interests within it. It seeks to promote sustained growth and balanced development within the region.<br />'' <br />'' The inspiration for IORA came from remarks made by former South African President, Nelson Mandela, in 1995. During a visit to India, he noted that the natural urge of the facts of history and geography should broaden itself to include the concept of an Indian Ocean Rim for socio-economic co-operation."<br />'' <br />'' The Indian Ocean today has maritime trade routes that carry around half of the world's container ships, one-third of the world's bulk cargo traffic and two-thirds of world oil shipments. This makes the region an important lifeline for global trade and transport. Nearly 2.7 billion people live in countries bordering the ocean.<br />''