IORA Summit Shows Indonesia's Success: Bishop

JAKARTA, Mar 7 (Antara) - Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Summit is a proof of Indonesia's Chairmanship success in leading the organization throughout 2015-2017. "The fact that Indonesia came up with the idea to host the summit is a great credit to Indonesia as it brings the substance into IORA," Bishop said here, Monday. At the IORA's Ministerial Conference in Padang, West Sumatra in 2015, Indonesia proposed the IORA 20-year Commemoration Summit held in Jakarta on March 5-7, 2017. "We congratulate Indonesia for its very ambitious agenda for IORA," Bishop said, adding that Australia fully supports Indonesia to strengthen IORA. According to the Australian Foreign Minister, Indonesia has succeeded in bringing the issues of preventing and combating terrorism and radicalism at the IORA Summit. "The fact that we are participating in very significant meetings today proves that under the chairmanship of Indonesia, IORA has reached a new level of maturity as an organization," she said. On the sidelines of the IORA meeting, Bishop has a courtesy call on the Vice President, bilateral meetings with several ministers, namely, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Luhut Panjaitan, and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Wiranto.