India on Wednesday acquired the Observer status in the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCOC), the anti-piracy group of nations that provides a common platform to manage maritime security for governments on the east coast of Africa and the Arabian peninsula.
“As an Observer at the DCOC/ Jeddah Amendment, India looks forward to working together with DCOC/JA member states towards coordinating and contributing to enhanced maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region”, said the Ministry of External Affairs in a press statement.
Members of the grouping are expected to work to the “fullest possible extent” to counter maritime security threats such as piracy and oceanic terrorism.
The DCOC was founded on January 29, 2009, to counter piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean Region, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
The platform underwent changes in 2017 when a high-level meeting in Jeddah adopted the “Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct 2017”. The Amendment aims to provide an economic and security foundation to the maritime needs of the participating countries.
The grouping has 18 member-states from the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the East Coast of Africa and island countries in the Indian Ocean Region. The grouping also has Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States as Observers.
