TEHRAN – Tourism ministers from the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) will soon come together in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, the province’s governor-general has said.

Organized in collaboration with India and Pakistan, the first meeting of tourism ministers of the countries bordering the Indian Ocean will be held in Sistan-Baluchestan in the near future, Hossein Modarres Khiabani explained on Friday.

So far, the province has held several festivals in various fields, including handicrafts, ethnic clothing, and local food with neighboring countries and the Persian Gulf provinces, the official added.

Sistan-Baluchestan province is of great importance and is considered the cultural capital of the east of the country, he noted.

The collective province -- Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south -- accounts for one of the driest regions of Iran with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west and an obvious rise in humidity in the coastal regions. In ancient times, the region was a crossword in the Indus Valley and the Babylonian civilizations.

The province possesses special significance because of being located in a strategic transit location, especially Chabahar which is the only ocean port in Iran and the best and easiest access route of the middle Asian countries to free waters. The vast province is home to several distinctive archaeological sites and natural attractions, including two UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely Shahr-e-Soukhteh (Burnt City) and the Lut desert.

Established in 1997, the Indian Ocean Rim Association is a dynamic inter-governmental organization aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean region through its 23 member states and nine dialogue partners. Home to nearly 2.7 billion people, the member states, whose shores are washed by the ocean, are including Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Oman, South Africa, Thailand, and Iran.

ABU/AM