IORA • Indian Ocean Rim Association

The High Level Task Force (HLTF), established by the Council of Ministers in its third meeting held in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, April 2001, to monitor the direction for the Association was mandated among others to examine the idea for the creation of a “special fund” for implementing the projects and programs. The HLTF met twice in Sri Lanka (October 2001) and Iran (January 2002) respectively to discuss the proposal.

At the meeting held in Iran, the HLTF recommended that a Special Fund be established as a financial mechanism for supporting and complementing the funding of projects and programs adopted by the Association, in line with the principles and objectives enshrined in the Charter as well as the objectives and goals envisaged by the relevant organs of the Organisation. The Special Fund was established by the Council of Ministers in its meeting held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 2004 and a contingency Fund in full was transferred as the initial reserve for this Fund. The Memorandum on the establishment of the IORA Special Fund was approved by the Council of Minister (COM) in its meeting held in Tehran, February 2006. The rules and procedures were established in 2008.

Mission

The mission of a Special Fund would be to contribute to the Association's objectives through the provision of funds and to assist interested members in their fund-raising for the feasibility study as well as the implementation of approved projects and programs. The Special Fund could also play a role in capacity building at the national level to support implementing projects.

Objectives

The principal objectives of the Special Fund would be as follows:

to assist with the provision of funds needed for the implementation of projects and programs;
to assist with the preparation of projects;
to assist with the provision of technical assistance for preparation and/or implementation of projects;
to assist with pre-feasibility and feasibility project studies.

Application for the Special Fund

It will be recommended that a potential applicant for the IORA Special Fund fully appraise him/herself with the contents of the Guidebook on IORA Special Fund which is available for download above.

Once completed, please send the application form to the IORA Secretariat (hq@iora.net) from where it will be forwarded to the respective country's National Focal Point for further consideration. Contact details of the IORA Secretariat can be found at the website above. It is important that all sections of this application from are fully completed. Officials at the Secretariat could assist if required. The IORA Secretariat will contact you should any further information be required.