| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The committee's report has highlighted the diversity of the countries of the Indian Ocean Rim and the multiple ways it which these states can be categorised. This diversity and the lack of a single agreed definition of the 'Indian Ocean Rim' has created a significant challenge for the development of policy, from both an Australian and a regional perspective. Australia's approach to trade in the Indian Ocean Rim is largely bilateral; defence and strategic relations are based on single issue groupings; and aid to the region is predominately provided under the auspices of the United Nations. Evidence gathered in relation to the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC) demonstrates clearly that diversity in the region - both economic and political - has created inertia in the region's main organisation.
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