MEA Jaishankar calls for joint efforts on Indian Ocean region’s growth, security

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Sunday called the Indian Ocean region a vital global lifeline and urged countries in the region to support each other, build on their strengths, and align policies to advance development, connectivity, maritime interests, and security. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the 8th Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat on “Voyage to New Horizons of Maritime Partnership.”

“The Indian Ocean is veritably a global lifeline. Its production, consumption, contribution and connectivity are central to the manner in which the world runs today,” he said.

“Our voyage to new horizons is best done as a coordinated flotilla of the Indian Ocean. We are understandably a diverse group in terms of history, geography, development, politics or culture. But what unites us is a common devotion to the well-being of the Indian Ocean region,” he said.