Abu Dhabi [UAE], January 28 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasized the growing engagement between India and the Middle East over the past decade, noting that India views the region as an "extended neighborhood" with which it has now fully reconnected.
Speaking at the opening session of the Raisina Middle East in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Jaishankar underscored the "special importance" of the partnership between India and the Middle East in an evolving global landscape. He highlighted that India regards the Middle East as both a key partner and an essential gateway to the wider world.
Jaishankar said, "An India with wider interests and growing capabilities today contemplates the world with confidence. We certainly recognize the risks, but we are equally cognizant of the opportunities. For us, the Middle East is an extended neighbourhood with which we have now re-connected in full measure. It is a crucial passage to the world beyond, whether we speak of Africa or the Atlantic. It is about partners with whom we have traditions and comfort. What is needed most at this time is a deepening of our engagement, a prospect made possible today by more conversations and frequent exchanges."
Jaishankar mentioned in a post on X, "Addressed the inaugural session of #RaisinaMiddleEast in Abu Dhabi. Highlighted the significant expansion of India - Middle East engagement in the past decade, driven by strong trade, connectivity and people-to-people linkages. And how this partnership holds special importance in a changing world. An India with wider interests and growing capabilities sees the Middle East as not only a close partner but a crucial passage to the world beyond."
He highlighted that in a rapidly changing world, the most effective way to tackle challenges and seize opportunities is by creating a shared agenda and establishing a common purpose. He also mentioned India's efforts in doing so with the countries of the Gulf, MENA, and the Mediterranean.
Jaishankar said, "In this world of change, challenges are best addressed and opportunities ideally exploited by forging a shared agenda and developing a common purpose. That is exactly what India is trying to do today with nations of the Gulf, MENA and the Mediterranean. There are some elements of the traditional agenda that could bear with more collaborative solutions. Food and health security are perhaps the two most obvious. There is manufacturing. Manufacturing, as it becomes more diversified."
"Technology, as it becomes more democratized. We are creating the basis for more broad-based growth. There is also the promise of technologies on the horizon. After all, this is now the world of AI and EV, of space and drones. We have already seen the first collaborative projects on green hydrogen and green ammonia start to take shape. There is also a serious discussion underway on overseas transmission grids. New forms of connectivity are also in the making. Enabling technology to work has also spurred greater collaboration in education and skills. Our endeavours those of India and the Middle East, can be further projected into Africa, Europe, the Caucuses and Central Asia," he added.
Jaishankar also discussed the various discussions occurring at the global level. He said, "In India, our own debates about the direction of progress highlight what Prime Minister Modi often calls the twin pillars of technology and tradition. Their dynamic is an interactive one, and that is a departure from the understanding that modernity and tradition are polar opposites. But at the global level, a different discourse is taking place. And this is a discourse which often pits progress against heritage, the future against the past. This has implications for both diplomacy and statecraft. In the name of universal norms, efforts are being made to advance a borderless culture."
"Its purpose of course is to create new forms of legitimacy and override national traditions, practices and even decision-making. Nations and their governance are rated and ranked with an agenda in mind. The tools to influence opinion include finance and media, but most of all the power of technology. Many of the changes underway in the global order are because there is today widespread resistance to such efforts. So, we are witnessing today both an economic and a politico-cultural pushback, sometimes the two coming together. This is the big issue now before us. It will re-shape the manner, not just in how societies govern themselves but also in how they approach international relations. We, in the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East, are intimately involved with both aspects and should engage with each other in that regard," he added.
He pointed out that colonialism had a profound impact on disrupting the natural connections both within and between nations and regions. He emphasized that the need to re-engineer the flow of goods and services has grown more urgent as production and consumption have diversified over the past 80 years. He described the COVID-19 pandemic as a valuable lesson.
Jaishankar said, "The pandemic experience was also an instructive lesson. So too are the disruptive consequences of conflict; I just need to remind you that two serious ones are ongoing and these are cases to point. Extreme climate events are an additional cause of anxiety, as indeed even accidents in crucial supply lines."
He emphasized that "refashioning connectivity" cannot be a one-sided effort if it is to be truly effective and pointed out that several initiatives are currently in progress, which will materialize in the coming years. He highlighted the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as the most significant in the region, adding that India is engaged in both.
He said, "To our East, we are looking at both land and sea-based corridors that will take us to the Pacific. The Middle East will be a beneficiary when that happens. Maritime security and safety is another issue where understanding and mechanisms will have to step in to fill in global deficit. This is already underway in the Arabian and Red Seas. More First Responders are required to address the HADR situations. India has come forward to a considerable degree in this regard. But partnerships, with and amongst Middle East nations can help deal with this challenge."
"As two regions long connected by the flow of people, it is also natural that we will have a common interest in the emergence of a global workplace. This is all the more necessary when new industries like semiconductors or electric mobility scour the world for skills and talent. The Gulf, in particular, has been a trendsetter in this regard. As Middle Eastern nations themselves explore emerging and critical technologies, as they full exploit the current and future energy potential, they will surely utilize the current foundation of good will and experience to bolster their own capabilities," he added.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is visiting the UAE from January 27 to 29 to enhance the bilateral ties between the two nations, particularly aiming to further their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
"The visit will provide an opportunity to advance the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries and add new momentum to the India - UAE relationship," a formal statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs mentioned.
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