Paris: Emphasising that India hopes to see a rapid return of peace and stability in West Asia following the signing of an agreement between the US and Iran, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi specifically emphasised the issue of the safety and security of seafarers during meetings with his counterparts and in his interventions at the G7 Summit in France’s Evian, over the last couple of days.
“We have always emphasised the importance of maintaining the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce through the international waterways in the region. Prime Minister specifically emphasised the issue of the safety and security of seafarers. He noted how hundreds of thousands of Indian seafarers essentially provide a global public good by serving on maritime platforms that serve the global community and serve global maritime trade in a big way, and why therefore their safety and security should be a common concern of the global community and this is something that he voiced not just in his intervention at the G7 summit outreach meetings but also in his bilateral meetings with several leaders,” Misri told reporters in Paris.
The Foreign Secretary mentioned that PM Modi, during the discussions he held with the world leaders, expressed once again India’s desire to see sustained peace and security in the region. India, he said, welcomed the developments that have taken place through the understanding that has been reached between the United States and Iran and hopes to see a rapid return to peace and stability in this region.
India was invited as a partner country to the 52nd G7 Summit where Prime Minister Modi engaged with world leaders on issues of importance to India as well as to the Global South. This was India’s 13th participation at the G7 Summit and Prime Minister Modi’s seventh consecutive participation at the summit.
Foreign Secretary Misri also noted that India has made “significant progress” already with the United States on the conclusion of an interim free trade bilateral trade agreement.
“We are in the final stages of concluding that agreement. Next week in fact the United States trade representative Mr Jamieson Greer will be visiting India to take forward these discussions. In the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister and President Donald Trump yesterday in Evian, this was a major subject of discussion. Both leaders once again gave instructions for this agreement to be concluded at the earliest possible,” he said.
(IANS)
