The big blue: regional networks across the Indian Ocean

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is preparing for South Africa's role as Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) deputy chair to Indonesia from 2015 to 2017, and its position as IORA chair from 2017 to 2019. Narnia Bohler-Muller tells us more about the focus on regional collaboration across the Indian Ocean rim and the Blue Economy. As South Africa is finding her feet as a fully integrated member of the international community post-1994 as a member of the United Nations, African Union, India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA), and most recently, the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) association, among others, it is necessary to complement these complex collaborative global and regional relationships with research partnerships that enhance the sharing of knowledge and skills.