Sri Lanka in June this year hosted a workshop for the IORA member to discuss the modalities of establishing the Centre of Excellence (CoE). The Ministry of External Affairs, along with the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) organized the workshop.

The proposed Centre envisions building scientific and technological capacity in ocean sciences research and sustainable collaborative utilization of ocean resources. It will support regional collaboration among Indian Ocean Rim countries and serve as a partnership for institutions that support scientific and socio-economic research in relation to the Indian Ocean region.

The Indian Ocean Rim region, which is home to nearly one-third of the world's population, carries high economic significance due to its strategic location.

The 20-member IORA aims to provide maximum opportunities to develop shared interests and reap mutual benefits and exchange information on trade and investment and also provide opportunities to expand intra-regional trade among countries in the group, the government said.