---
title: "IORA Jakarta Concord: 2017 Indian Ocean Pact"
description: "The IORA Jakarta Concord is the 2017 declaration from IORA's first leaders' summit, setting a maritime-cooperation vision for 23 Indian Ocean rim states."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/iora-jakarta-concord"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The IORA Jakarta Concord is the 2017 declaration adopted at the first Indian Ocean Rim Association leaders' summit, setting a strategic vision for regional maritime cooperation.
- How does the IORA Jakarta Concord differ from the IORA Charter of 1997?
- Is the Jakarta Concord legally binding on IORA member states?
- What are the priority areas affirmed in the Jakarta Concord?
- Why does the Jakarta Concord matter for India's Indian Ocean strategy?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

Procedurally, the Concord operates within IORA's intergovernmental machinery rather than as a self-executing instrument. The Council of Ministers — IORA's apex decision-making organ, composed of the foreign ministers of member states — endorses summit declarations by consensus, the association's standard decision rule. The Concord was negotiated through the Committee of Senior Officials, which prepares draft texts ahead of ministerial and leaders' meetings, with the IORA Secretariat in Ebene, Mauritius, providing institutional support. The document is implemented not through enforcement but through the IORA Action Plan (2017–2021), adopted alongside the Concord, which translated its broad commitments into time-bound deliverables across the association's priority areas. National focal points in member foreign ministries coordinate follow-up, and progress is reviewed at successive Council of Ministers meetings, typically held annually.

### Opponents

Critics note that IORA, and the Concord by extension, suffers from limited institutional capacity, modest secretariat resources, and a consensus rule that constrains ambitious action. The association excludes major regional actors — Pakistan's membership has been blocked, and China remains only a Dialogue Partner — which limits comprehensiveness. The blue economy and maritime-security pledges of 2017 have produced uneven implementation, and subsequent Action Plans (2022–2027) have sought to address the gap between declaratory ambition and operational delivery. Strategic competition in the Indian Ocean, including Chinese port investments and the militarisation of the Indo-Pacific debate, has tested IORA's studiously non-aligned posture.

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Example

In March 2017, Indonesian President Joko Widodo hosted IORA's first Leaders' Summit in Jakarta, where 21 member states adopted the Jakarta Concord to mark the association's twentieth anniversary.

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