India stands for balanced global trade regime in Indo-Pacific region : Subrahmanyam Jaishankar

New Delhi : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that India stands for a fair, balanced, rules-based, stable international trade regime in the Indo-Pacific region.Addressing virtually the 4th edition of the Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF) where India is co-hosting the event along with the US, he said that India believes that our common prosperity and security requires us to evolve, through dialogue, a common rules-based order for the region. “Such an order must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, international law, as well as equality of all nations. It envisages that countries should have access to the use of common spaces on sea and in the air that would require freedom of navigation and over flights, unimpeded commerce and peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law,” Jaishankar said.The Minister said that today Indo-Pacific reflects the reality of globalization, the emergence of multi-polarity and the benefits of rebalancing. “India sees Indo-Pacific as a free, open, inclusive region, which embraces all in a common pursuit of progress and prosperity that includes all nations in this geography as also draws others beyond who have a stake in it,” he said.

Saying that the world was moving towards greater economic diversification and political multi-polarity, Jaishankar noted that Covid-19 has given a much sharper impetus to those trends which has broadened the understanding of national security for most societies. It has taught us the importance of resilient and reliable supply chains, just as it has cautioned us against concentrated production.Hoping that new priorities of the post-Covid world — health security, digital delivery and green growth — will surely feature in this conference, Jaishankar said that India takes the opportunities and challenges of the Indo-Pacific very seriously. “You can see that in the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, or indeed in the vaccine collaboration undertaken through the Quad format. Our global endeavours like the International Solar Alliance or the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure also have a direct relevance for this region”, he added.Concluding his remarks, the Minister said that India is coming out of the Covid pandemic and is witnessing a strong economic recovery. We will continue to be a more dynamic and friendlier business destination and we will contribute to being an engine of growth for the global economy. And we will be very much a part of more reliable and resilient supply chains that the post-Covid world requires, he added.