The Executive Council of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) held its meeting in Paris from June 25 to 28, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.
At the Paris meeting, budgetary provisions were made for several key activities — the GOOS (Global Ocean Observing System) Regional Alliance for the Indian Ocean, building community resilience in the Indian Ocean, IOCINDIO governance and coordination, IOCINDIO capacity development, and IOCINDIO ocean literacy.
During this session, the achievements of the IOC Regional Committee for the Central Indian Ocean (IOCINDIO) were prominently highlighted.
Since its establishment in 1982, IOCINDIO has been working under IOC, focusing on various scientific research areas such as ocean temperature, ocean observation, ocean weather, and coastal vulnerability.
In June 2021, the Secretary of the Maritime Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rear Admiral Md Khurshed Alam (Retd) was elected as Chair of IOCINDIO from Bangladesh.
Under his leadership, the committee conducted eleven meetings with various member states and stakeholders.
These efforts culminated in the successful passage of a resolution to upgrade the committee to a subcommission for the Indian Ocean, which was approved by the IOC Assembly in June 2023.
While IOCINDIO was the only committee dedicated to the Indian Ocean, other regions like the Pacific, Caribbean, and African coasts have sub-commissions under the IOC.
The IOCINDIO Sub-Commission comprises eleven member states: Bangladesh, France, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka, with Iran and the UAE serving as vice-chairs.
Following this upgrade, Rear Admiral Md Khurshed Alam (Retd) was re-elected as chair of the IOCINDIO.
He has since submitted several proposals to the IOC aimed at enhancing research on the Indian Ocean, one of the least explored oceans in the world.
