External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his US counterpart Marco Rubio and met envoys of Gulf Cooperation Council member states on Monday to discuss the ramifications of the conflict in West Asia amid growing concerns over the impact on India’s food, fuel and fertilizer security.
Jaishankar said on social media that he had a detailed phone conversation with Rubio “focused on the conflict in West Asia and its impact on the international economy.” He added: “We spoke in particular about concerns related to energy security. We agreed to stay in touch.”
There was no official readout of the phone conversation or meeting with envoys of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Jaishankar said on social media that he and the six ambassadors “exchanged views on the conflict in West Asia.”
“I thanked them for their continued support of the Indian community in the region,” he said.
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The meeting comes a day after a meeting of the Security Committee of the Council of Ministers to decide on a set of measures to deal with the economic and security repercussions of the war unleashed by Israel and the US military strikes on Iran last month. The measures focused in particular on ensuring immediate and long-term food, fuel and fertilizer security in the country.
The Indian government has also intensified its efforts to ensure the security and well-being of 10 million Indians living in West Asian countries.
In addition to the ambassadors of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the meeting was also attended by the ambassadors of Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone are home to eight million Indians.
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Earlier in the day, Jaishankar spoke to his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath. “We discussed the implications of the conflict in West Asia,” Jaishankar said on social media, without elaborating. “India is committed to #NeighborhoodFirst and #VisionMAHASAGAR,” he added.
Sri Lanka is among India’s neighbors who have sought additional fuel supplies from New Delhi to confront the energy crisis caused by the conflict in West Asia. The Indian side said that it is studying these requests and the decision will be made after evaluating the availability of fuel stocks and local demand.
Jaishankar said in another social media post that he also spoke to his German counterpart Johan Wadephul on Sunday evening regarding the conflict in West Asia.
