Iran, Israel tensions source of concern, says Jaishankar
EAM Jaishankar said there have been 'very significant security challenges' in the region with a ‘deep and disastrous impact for trade in Asia’
New Delhi: The tensions between Israel and Iran are a “source of concern” and India's diplomatic efforts are focused on addressing this issue, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.
India has an interest in trying to mitigate the security situation arising from the conflict in West Asia because of its impact on trade, including the diversion of maritime routes and increased costs for trade, he said in his address at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.
Jaishankar, on a two-day visit to Bahrain from Saturday, touched on a range of economic and strategic issues, including preventing conflicts from spreading further and connectivity projects such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and International North-South Trade Corridor (INSTC).
"In recent times, for all of us, the relationship or absence of it between Israel and Iran has been particularly a source of concern, so some of our diplomatic efforts has focused on that particular aspect," he said, without providing details on these efforts.
India, which depends on West Asia for energy supplies and has some nine million expatriates in the region, has watched the Israel-Hamas conflict and the escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel with growing concern.
While condemning the terror attacks by Hamas and hostage-taking, India has maintained that Israel’s response must take into account humanitarian concerns. It has also called for the cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue and diplomacy to find a two-state solution.
Partners for India
Pointing to the importance of West Asian countries as partners for India in the security domain, Jaishankar said there have been “very significant security challenges” in the region with a “deep and disastrous impact for trade in Asia”.
He specifically referred to the diversion of maritime routes and rise in insurance, shipping and container costs and delays, and said India has an interest in “trying to mitigate that situation”.
India has had a naval presence in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia and Northern Arabian Sea and had about 30 warships in the region, with a peak of 12 warships at one point of time. In the past year, Indian vessels responded to 24 incidents, escorted 250 ships and rescued 120 crew members.
“We are making our contributions, working in tandem with Operation Prosperity Guardian...We are also a member of the combined maritime force which is centred in Bahrain, involves CTF150 working with EUNAVFOR, and in many cases... we intend to increase our bilateral exercises both in the Gulf with our partners as well as in the Mediterranean,” Jaishankar said.
Operation Prosperity Guardian is a US-led military mission that was launched last year to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Jaishankar spoke on several connectivity projects including the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral (IMTT) highway, INSTC and IMEC.
"In fact, one day, when these corridors are done, the IMEC will bring the Atlantic to India, the IMTT will actually take that connectivity from India to the Pacific," he said.
"So you can actually envisage a connectivity corridor from the Atlantic to the Pacific going through southern Europe, going through the Arabian peninsula, cutting through the southern part of the Asian continent."
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