Your Excellency President Mattarella
Excellency Vice President and Foreign Minister Tajani
Mr. Franco Bruni
Colleagues
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a pleasure to be back at the Mediterranean dialogue. Allow me to offer some thoughts on the key themes of this meeting.

The first point is on the relevance of India to the Mediterranean. Our annual trade with the Mediterranean nations is about USD 80 billion. We have a diaspora here of 460,000. About 40% of that in Italy. Our key interests are in fertilizers, energy, water technology, diamonds, defence and cyber. India has significant projects underway as airports, ports, railway, steel, green hydrogen, phosphates and submarine cables. Our political relations with the Mediterranean are strong and our defence collaboration is growing including more exercises and exchanges.

Let me now shift to the Middle East and present India’s interests there. Our trade with the Gulf alone is in the range of 160-180 billion USD annually. The rest of MENA adds about another USD 20 billion. More than 9 million Indians live and work in the Middle East. Whether it is energy, technology, industrial projects or services, we have big stakes. It is also a region to which we are connected in history, culture and security.

For these very reasons, you may expect India’s presence and activities to grow, especially as we move from being the fifth largest economy in the world to the third. The Mediterranean presents both opportunities and risks in an uncertain and volatile world. Beyond extrapolating current trends, the new element of our relationship will be connectivity. The IMEEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor) that was announced in September 2023 can be a game changer. The conflict underway currently in the Middle East has undoubtedly been a major complication. But the IMEEC is proceeding ahead on the Eastern side, especially between India, UAE and Saudi Arabia. I also flag your attention to the I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-US) grouping. Expect it to be more active in times to come.

That said, we all recognize that the world is experiencing severe stress. Two major conflicts are underway. Supply chains are insecure. Connectivity, especially maritime, stands disrupted. Climate events are more extreme and frequent. And the Covid pandemic has left deep scars. Today, I focus my remarks on the conflicts.

The situation in the Middle East is obviously deeply concerning, both for what has happened and what may still come. India unequivocally condemns terrorism and hostage taking. It also regards large scale civilian casualties in military operations to be unacceptable. International humanitarian law cannot be disregarded. In immediate terms, we should all support a ceasefire. India has also extended relief directly and through UNRWA. In the longer term, it is imperative that the future of the Palestinian people be addressed. India favours a two-State solution.

Our concerns have also been increasing on the widening of the conflict. We have been in regular touch with both Israel and Iran at the highest levels to advocate restraint and enhance communication. Where Lebanon is concerned, there is an Indian contingent like Italy, that is part of UNIFIL. With regard to the Gulf of Aden and the northern Arabian sea, Indian naval ships have been deployed since last year to protect commercial shipping. Given our capacity to engage various parties, we are always willing to contribute meaningfully to any international diplomatic endeavours.

Addressing the conflict in Ukraine is the other urgent imperative of our times. It is well into its third year. The continuation of this conflict has serious destabilizing consequences, including for the Mediterranean. What is clear is that no solution is going to emerge from the battlefield. India has consistently held the view that disputes in this era cannot be settled by war. There must be a return to dialogue and diplomacy; the sooner the better. This is a widespread sentiment in the world today; especially in the Global South. Since June this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has personally engaged leaders of both Russia and Ukraine to this end. This has included his visiting Moscow and Kyiv. Our senior officials remain in continuous touch. We firmly believe that those who have the ability to explore finding common ground must step up to that responsibility.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are today on the threshold of a new era. It is one of re-globalizing, re-balancing and multi-polarity. It is also a more technology centered future, with a premium on mobility of talent and greener growth. Opportunities in this world are as indivisible as anxieties. A closer and stronger relationship between India and the Mediterranean will serve both of us well.

I thank you for your attention.