NEW DELHI, March 26: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday travelled to France for the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, which will discuss the West Asia crisis with a focus on coordinating efforts to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for international shipping.
While India is not a G7 member, it has been invited as a partner country by France, the current chair of the powerful bloc.
Top diplomats from the US, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Japan and the UK are attending the meeting.
The external affairs minister will visit Abbaye des-Vaux-de-Cernay in France on March 26 and 27 to participate in the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting with partner countries, according to an official statement.
Jaishankar is also expected to hold bilateral discussions with his counterparts on the sidelines of the G7 meeting, it said.
Besides India, France has invited Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Brazil.
According to a French official, there will be a session dedicated to the crisis in West Asia.
The ministers will deliberate on exploring different negotiation channels that could lead to de-escalation in the region and reopen maritime routes, the official said.
The foreign ministers will also discuss how to “tackle the nuclear and ballistic programme of Iran,” the official noted.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, which handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
West Asia has been a major source of India’s energy procurement.
In the last couple of weeks, India has made diplomatic efforts focused on ending the conflict in West Asia as soon as possible and ensuring the unimpeded flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz.
New Delhi thinks there could be serious ramifications for fuel and fertiliser security for many countries, including India, if the blockade of the shipping lane continues.
The Group of 7 (G7) brings together seven of the world’s most advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also a member of the bloc.
The G7 serves as the forum of choice for its members to discuss and coordinate action in response to major economic, financial and geopolitical challenges on the global stage.
PM MODI TO INTERACT WITH CMS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday will interact with the chief ministers of all states, barring those which are going to polls, and review their preparedness and plans in the wake of the West Asia conflict, sources said.
The initiative is aimed at ensuring synergy of efforts in the spirit of ‘Team India’, the sources said.
This is the first time that the prime minister will hold a meeting with the chief ministers on the West Asia conflict which started on February 28 with the attack by the US-Israel on Iran.
The Persian nation has also retaliated by firing on its Gulf neighbours and Israel.
“The prime minister will interact with the CMs tomorrow evening through video conferencing on the West Asia conflict to review preparedness and plans of states. The meeting will focus on ensuring synergy of efforts in the spirit of Team India,” the sources said.
The chief ministers of election-bound states will not be part of this meeting due to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
The Cabinet Secretariat will hold a separate meeting with the chief secretaries of poll-bound Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
While making a statement in the Lok Sabha on Monday, the prime minister said that the difficult global conditions caused by the West Asia conflict are likely to persist for a long time and called upon the nation to remain prepared and united, just as it had stood together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Modi also drew the attention of the House to the internal security dimension of the crisis, warning that certain elements attempt to exploit such situations. He said all security agencies have been placed on alert and that security across all domains, coastal, border, cyber and strategic installations is being further strengthened.
“Whether it is coastal security, border security, cyber security or strategic installations, the security of all is being reinforced,” he had said.
Urging patience, restraint and vigilance, and cautioning against those who may seek to exploit the situation by spreading falsehoods, engaging in black-marketing or hoarding, Modi appealed to all state governments to ensure strict monitoring and swift action against such elements.
Expressing his abiding faith in the collective resolve of the nation, the prime minister, in his speech in the Lok Sabha, also said that when every government and every citizen of this country walk together, “we can challenge every challenge, this is our identity, and this is our strength”.
Addressing a media event later on the same day, Modi said challenges have continued to mount one after another even after the COVID-19 pandemic and there has not been a single year that has not tested India and Indians. (PTI)
