India sees Center East area as ‘essential passage to world past’: Jaishankar

Exterior Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar throughout the inaugural session of ‘Raisina Center East’, in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
| Photograph Credit score: PTI through @DrSJaishankar/x

Exterior Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday (January 28, 2025) highlighted the numerous enlargement of India-Center East engagement previously decade, pushed by robust commerce, connectivity, and people-to-people linkages, saying India sees the Center East as an important passage to the world past.

Addressing the inaugural session of Raisina Center East in Abu Dhabi, Mr. Jaishankar stated the Center East area, which India calls West Asia, is essential to India’s strategic pursuits. The nation’s commerce within the Gulf area quantities to about $160 to $180 billion.

“Our presence within the Gulf is each pervasive and essential. Greater than 9 million Indians reside and work right here, however the Gulf additionally serves as a gateway to the MENA area and the Mediterranean,” Mr. Jaishankar stated.

“Our annual commerce with the Mediterranean, by the way, is one other $80 billion, and the Indian diaspora there may be near half 1,000,000,” the minister stated, including that India’s initiatives within the area embrace airports, ports, railways, phosphates, inexperienced hydrogen, metal and submarine cables.

Mr. Jaishankar stated the endeavours of India and the Center East will be projected additional into Africa, Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

“Maybe there is no such thing as a area that has a stronger case for such plurilateral cooperation than that of connectivity… Maritime safety and security is one other concern the place understandings and mechanisms must step in to fill international deficits,” he stated.

In conclusion, Mr. Jaishankar stated the Center East is an prolonged neighbourhood with which India has absolutely reconnected, and New Delhi must deepen its engagement with the area.

The minister right here additionally met Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to UAE President, on Tuesday (January 28, 2025) morning and mentioned the particular partnership between India and UAE and its additional progress.