Stressing the importance of Maritime Security in an increasingly globalized world, Indian Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said that oceans are the pathways to prosperity and it is important that their access remain free and unencumbered.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday addressed the Retreat Session of the two-day 13th ASEM Summit. The summit commenced on November 25 in virtual format, with the theme "Strengthening Multilateralism for Shared Growth". The Vice President had made interventions in the Plenary Session of the Summit on Thursday, reported the Ministry of external affairs (MEA) in a statement.
"At the Retreat Session, Naidu said that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought out the many inadequacies in the current global system, particularly the health system and the supply chains, calling for a multilateral and collaborative approach to address these gaps," the statement read.
Talking about India's contribution to the fight against COVID-19, he said that by controlling the transmission of infection in one-sixth of the world's population, India has contributed to making the world safer. Referring to the milestone of more than a billion vaccinations, Naidu said that India is also in the process of restarting the global export of vaccines to countries in need, as mentioned in the statement.
"In this regard, he mentioned the five principles that define India's approach including free, open and secure maritime trade, peaceful settlement of maritime disputes based on international law, collective address of natural disasters and maritime threats, preservation of the maritime environment and maritime resources and encouraging responsible maritime connectivity based on sustainability and absorption capacity of countries," MEA said in a statement.
Describing climate action as another area of common interest, the Vice President reiterated that the road to fighting climate change is through climate justice which requires countries to take a bigger and long-term picture. Naidu said that in the post-pandemic era, a different world awaits us.
MEA quoted Naidu as saying, "It is one that puts a greater premium on trust and transparency, resilience and reliability, as also on choices and redundancy."
Naidu observed that the ASEM process, bringing together countries of Asia and Europe, has a critical role to play in this regard. On this occasion, he also reaffirmed India's commitment to share its experience and resources with the world in the spirit of solidarity to ensure security and growth for all in the region, the statement read.
( With inputs from ANI )
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