Press TV- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is set to leave Tehran for the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to participate in the summit of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).


Zarif would set off for Jakarta for the three-day event on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said.

“The first summit of the association will be held in Jakarta on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its establishment,” he added.

He noted that the leaders' summit would be preceded by a Committee of Senior Officials' meeting on March 5 and a Council of Ministers' meeting on March 6.

The Iranian minister would take part in the IORA summit on Tuesday as the representative of the Islamic Republic, Qassemi said.

The director general for international affairs, the environment and sustainable development at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majid Bizmark, headed the Iranian delegation of experts at the IORA meeting on Sunday. Iranian Ambassador to Jakarta Valiollah Mohammadi Nasrabadi was also present in the expert-level meeting.

Indonesia, as the current chair of the association, will host the first ever IORA Leaders' Summit on March 7 under the theme of "Strengthening Maritime Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous Indian Ocean".

The IORA summit will bring together the leaders of its 21 member states and seven dialogue partners as well as other special invitees and guests.

The association compromises Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Currently, IORA's dialogue partners are China, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.