IORA's Early Journey: Toward Cross-Border Cooperation in The Indian Ocean Region

International organizations are now subjects of international law. The subject of international law cannot be doubted because of the rights and obligations that exist in international organizations that make them. International organizations become a forum for the formation of international agreements that bind member countries. According to Joseph Nye, an international organization is an organization consisting of countries that are connected due to geographic relationships and the level of mutual interdependence. In essence, international organizations are divided into public international organizations (Public International Organization) and private international organizations (Private International Organization). Public international organizations regulate issues or relationships between states while private international organizations regulate relationships between individuals that cross national borders.

This international organization can be a regional organization, where membership in this regional organization is limited, because membership in the organization is determined by the similarity of geographical location and common goals. One example of a regional organization is the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is the pioneer and only regional organization in the Indian Ocean region. The Indian Ocean is a strategic water area, especially for the world economy. The Indian Ocean acts as a hub for international trade routes from Asia to Europe and vice versa.

The official website of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) states that IORA, previously known as the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), is a regional organization or regional cooperation forum that was declared in Mauritius in March 1997. As its founding charter states, IORA has the main objective of developing mutually beneficial cooperation through a consensus approach based on the principles of sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, political independence and non-intervention and peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit. The establishment of IORA is clear evidence that the countries in the Indian region are able to form an established and large cooperation forum that benefits its member countries.

IORA is a regional organization of Indian Ocean countries, including Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Dialogue partner countries, namely China, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Egypt, and the United States, as well as two observers, namely the Indian Ocean Research Group (IORG) and the Indian Ocean Tourism Organization (IOTO). One of them is through a regional organization in the Indian Ocean Region known as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). 

The presence of IORA as a regional organization has a long history. This history is enriched by various activities that continue to be carried out in an effort to perfect the organization and make it easier to achieve goals. IORA's goal is to implement trade and increase trade cooperation. At that time India still felt the need to form a cooperation in the Indian Ocean region, as it was known that India at that time still felt the need for regional organizations. The South Asian regional organization did not provide India with enough advantages and benefits, so IORA was born. The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) organization was the brainchild of South Africa, Australia, and India in the early 1990s. IORA was born as a response to various problems that arose in the Indian Ocean region in particular. The South African Foreign Minister's visit to India in 1993 was the beginning of discussions about IORA.

This IORA organization not only involves the government but also involves various groups such as business people and academics. The nature of open regionalism carried in IORA consists of three main components as information in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, including: Trade, Investment, Economic Cooperation. 

Indonesia is one of the IORA member countries, which has a very strategic geographical location. Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world with 16,056 islands from Sabang to Merauke. Indonesia has a vast ocean with the second longest coastline in the world. Indonesia's geographical position is in the equatorial region. Located between two continents, namely the Asian continent and the Australian continent. It is located between two oceans, the Pacific and the Indian oceans. As such, Indonesia conducts various maritime diplomacy efforts to improve and protect resources at sea, as well as to introduce Indonesia's maritime power to the international community. 

The three continents that make up the Indian Ocean are Asia, Australia and Africa. These continents have abundant natural resources that can spur economic expansion. The strategic value of the Indian Ocean includes being a world trade route where around 34% of cargo traffic, 55% of petroleum reserves, 50% of merchant ships, 67% of oil shipments and 40% of gas are located in this region. In addition, the Indian Ocean is one of the regional groups with high GDP figures. so that right makes the Indian Ocean a driver of world economic growth. In 2013, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted that the Indian Ocean had a GDP of US$ 8 trillion, out of a total world GDP of US$ 73.9 trillion. The proximity between countries in the Indian Ocean makes a tangle of trade cooperation that is influenced by similarities, such as economy and history. This economic relationship on the Indian Ocean coast makes a bridge between Asia, Africa and Australia. With its potential, the Indian Ocean is dubbed the ocean of the future. 

IORA's international relations include cooperation among its member states that work together in areas such as environment, socio-culture, economy and security. IORA creates a forum for countries around the Indian Ocean to collaborate, exchange information, and address common problems. Thus, the presence of IORA in the Indian Ocean region as a regional organization is appropriate and suitable for countries in the region. Just as the Pacific Ocean has an organization that unites the surrounding countries with great benefits, the Indian Ocean region should also have an organization that accommodates the surrounding countries and benefits its member countries. 

The problem that exists in IORA is that for 20 years of existence IORA has still not been able to realize several series of cooperation frameworks in its own guidelines and has not developed its cooperation, especially in economic cooperation which has not been realized at all, making it difficult for IORA to develop and compete with other regional organizations. The problem raises a thought as to why IORA cooperation has not gone well and developed until now. There must be several factors that make the development of cooperation in IORA not developed and not running well, including regional stability and security, the status of legal personalite or legal power in the IORA organization that is still weak, differences in interests and priorities between IORA members, political instability in some IORA member countries and regional crises, and lack of resources and capacity. There must be several factors that make the development of cooperation in IORA not developed and not running well, including regional stability and security, the status of legal personalite or legal power in the IORA organization that is still weak, differences in interests and priorities between IORA members, political instability in some IORA member countries and regional crises, and lack of resources and capacity.

My name is Vanda Saputri, from the International Relations Study Program, Yogyakarta University of Technology "B" Batch 2022. The reason I chose the International Relations Study Program is because I am interested in various international issues in the political, economic, cultural, and social fields. In addition, my curiosity, where I always feel the need to know about things that I have never encountered, this is the reason I entered International Relations. My favorite lecturer is Mrs. Lucitania Rizky, S.IP. M.A. and Mr Adi Wibawa S.IP. M.A. Concentration Selection Plan for International Relations Study Program, I will take a business concentration because I am interested in the business world, with this I also hope to build relationships to make it easier for me to get a job according to what I want.