Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Vijay Kumar Singh attended the Indian Ocean Rim Association Ministerial Council Meeting in Durban, South Africa from October 31-November 2, 2018. Maldives became a member of the IORA and, South Korea and Turkey were granted the status of ‘Dialogue Partners’. However, Myanmar’s bid for membership was blocked by South Africa due to pressure from various voluntary groups over the Rohingya crisis. The Council approved the ‘Declaration on Guidelines for Enhancing Interaction with Dialogue Partners in IORA’. U.A.E. will be chair of IORA next year, and Bangladesh will be the vice-chair.