External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar gave a key note address at the 5^th Indian Ocean Conference which was held in UAE on 04-05 December 2021. The conference was organized by India Foundation, and was also attended by H.E. Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi, Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Oman.

 In his address, Dr. Jaishankar highlighted the challenges and cooperation opportunities in the Indian Ocean region in the wake of global re-balancing and COVID pandemic. Dr. Jaishankar said, “Whether it is the Indo-Pacific, Afghanistan or the Gulf, we are seeing more players, greater localization and arrangements of pragmatism. In fact, we are now entering a world of greater plurilateralism, one that recognizes the shortcomings of multilateralism, the limits of bilateralism and the untenability of unilateralism from whichever quarter.”

He said, the centrality of Indian Ocean to the global economy will ensure responsiveness to the ongoing changes, which may manifest as more activities and stronger cooperation among resident players. On the impact of COVID pandemic on the region, Dr. Jaishankar stated that, “it has also thoroughly exposed all its fault-lines and shortcomings. In economic terms, the dangers of over-centralized globalization are starkly apparent. The answer lies in both more reliable and resilient supply-chains as well as in greater trust and transparency. In political terms, the absence of vaccine equity and the reluctance to cooperatively address a challenge of such magnitude spoke for itself. International organizations failed the world, whether in terms of establishing the origins of the problem or in leading the response to it.”

Dr. Jaishankar added that specific countries steeped forward in different ways to mitigate the crisis including India. India did its fair share through the “supply of medicines, vaccines, and oxygen. Or in a willingness to take care of expatriate population in times of difficulty.” He also emphasized that the world needs to “expeditiously normalize travel through certification recognition so that livelihoods are restored”. Dr. Jaishankar mentioned that India has started to approach the Gulf, ASEAN and Central Asia as extended neighborhoods as well as India’s commitment to maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean region through SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) bode well in terms of exploring more collaborative endeavors in the coming times.

 Dr. Jaishankar said that the Indian Ocean community needs to work together to address pressing challenges emanating from post-COVID economic recovery. He said, “A world of more decentralized globalization obviously offers greater opportunities to many more nations. These would be accentuated by a stronger desire to foster localization and promote regionalism. It is important that we do not perpetuate or even repeat some of the mistakes of the pre-Covid era. Assuming unsustainable levels of debt in pursuit of apparently attractive projects was one concern. The economic downturn that accompanied the pandemic has heightened this significantly. The ongoing debate on responsible and viable connectivity is another. When plans and projects lack transparency, market viability, consultation or local participation, their consequences are unlikely to be beneficial.”

 In the end Dr. Jaishankar requested all the regional countries to work together and emphasized, “as we seek to recover from the Covid pandemic, as we assess the implications of the Afghanistan situation and as we come to terms with rebalancing, multipolarity and major power competition, it is only natural that we will look more amongst ourselves for solutions.”