The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is a regional organisation of 22 member states (Maldives was welcomed as a member state in 2018)1 that border the Indian Ocean and nine dialogue partners, namely China, France, Japan, the United States of America, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Egypt; and the newest additions, Turkey and South Korea (IORA 2018a). IORA's main objectives, captured in its charter, are cooperation for sustained growth and balanced development through regional economic cooperation (IORARC, 1997; IORA, 2014).2 The IORA charter sets the overall purpose of IORA members as being to 'build and expand understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation through a consensus-based, evolutionary and non-intrusive approach' (IORA, 2014).