External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India plans to strengthen economic and strategic ties with the continent from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in the west in the coming years.
Addressing the opening session of the CII India Mediterranean Business Conclave in New Delhi on Friday, Jaishankar expressed his desire to increase India’s participation in the Mediterranean region. He said that India can play the role of a major partner in the Mediterranean economy.
Jaishankar also said that India’s relations with the countries of the Mediterranean region have made significant progress in recent years. He said, “I believe that last year the level of Indian trade with the Mediterranean region reached US $ 77.89 billion.”
Addressing the conclave, Jaishankar said, “…the announcement of the India-Central-East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) at the G20 Summit in New Delhi last year has really opened many doors of hope.”
Speaking on the progress made by the country in the field of renewable energy, he said, “India has supported the One Sun, One World, One Grid initiative.
This visionary effort creates an interregional green grid that enables the transfer of renewable energy across different geographies. “As a country like India, which has built one and a half to two new metros every year on average, which has built seven new airports annually for the last ten years, we can be a serious partner for the Mediterranean economies,” he said.
Speaking on India’s growing economic position in the world, Jaishankar said, “Today, India is the fifth largest economy and by the end of this decade it can become the third largest economy.”
He said the Mediterranean Sea contributes 25% of global maritime trade through nearly 600 ports, so the region is of vital importance to international commerce.
He also said that it is advisable to connect the Mediterranean with the Indo-Pacific region for mutual benefit. Addressing the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Jaishankar said that this situation has caused significant disruptions in shipping routes.
“The ongoing conflict in West Asia has given rise to concerns about some of these contemporary initiatives, disruptions and disruptions in key water routes, increasing the cost of transportation for ships,” Jaishankar said.
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