IORA participated in the Third Steering Committee meeting of the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) initiative, held on 27-28 July 2023 in Chennai, India. IRIS is the flagship programme of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), launched at COP26 to promote disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The meeting focused on operationalizing the support for SIDS. A key agenda item was the launch and review of the first ‘call for proposals’ under IRIS, which had been announced at COP-27. The aim of this call was to equip relevant SIDS government agencies with technical support and knowledge products to enhance the resilience of their critical infrastructure.

The outcome was detailed Notes of the Meeting. IORA's participation in this committee aligned directly with its DRM priorities, particularly for its SIDS members. It provided a platform to understand and support a major global initiative aimed at addressing the unique infrastructure vulnerability of island states in the Indian Ocean, thereby fostering synergies between IORA's regional efforts and CDRI's targeted technical assistance.