India reiterates call to end Gulf conflict

United Nations, October 16 (IANS) India has reiterated its call for an immediate end to the conflict that encompasses the entire Gulf region and has taken a toll on its economy that has strong links to the region and on its people there.The conflict must be de-escalated immediately and resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, India's Permanent Representative P Harish said on Thursday at the Security Council's quarterly open debate on the Middle East.“India has very high stakes in the safety, security and stability of the Middle East”, he said. “Our political, economic, investment, energy and people-to-people relations with the region are extremely strong”.With the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council alone, India's annual trade is $180 billion, cumulative Foreign Direct Investment is $31 billion, and remittances are more than $52 billion, he said.The “safety, security and wellbeing” of the ten million Indians living in those countries “is a core interest and a vital part of our bilateral relationships”, he added.Another priority area for New Delhi is the safety of its seafarers and shipping, Harish said.“All attacks on commercial shipping and merchant mariners are legally and morally indefensible”, he said.“Freedom of navigation, and the safe and unimpeded flow of maritime commerce through international waterways, in accordance with international law, must be upheld”, he said.Harish cited the attacks on India-flagged MV DP World Cauvery this week, and in recent weeks on ships under other flags, MT Petro Dolphin, MT Valthera, MT On Peace, and MT Kazimah III.Many of the ships have Indian sailors, he said, thanking Oman and the United Arab Emirates for helping ensure their safety.He did not name either the attackers of the ships, or the principal adversaries in the conflict that began on February 28 with a joint attack by Israel and the United States on Iran.To deal with the plight of seafarers and protect them, Harish said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed establishing a Seafarers Emergency Support Network (SESN), Harish said.The network, which PM Modi proposed at the BRICS summit, “could connect the Maritime authorities and embassies of the countries concerned, and facilitate distress alerts, medical assistance, communication with families, and support for evacuation”, he said.India, which has the world's largest number of seafarers and Liberia, where the biggest number of ships are registered, jointly launched the Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers on the sidelines of the recent General Assembly High Level Week” he said.It has 23 member nations and they “stand ready to support more coordination to discourage recurrence of such attacks and to safeguard the rights of seafarers”, he said.Harish, who in his long diplomatic career served as India's representative to the Palestinian Authority stationed in Gaza City, said the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz should not take attention away from the dire situation there.India has unequivocally condemned the October 7 attack three years ago, he said. “Terrorism anywhere has no justification”.He did not name Hamas which launched the attack, or Israel that was the victim and retaliated with a counterattack on Gaza.“Civilians including women and children have borne the heaviest cost of the conflict since”, he said.The “international community must act in unison to prevent any further loss of civilian lives and destruction of civilian infrastructure”, he said.For a lasting solution, he said, “India will continue to stand for humanitarian relief, dialogue and diplomacy and a negotiated Two-State Solution” with Israel and Palestine as independent nations existing peacefully.Meanwhile, India is helping the people of Palestine through numerous programmes like building a hospital, establishing educational institutions, and providing scholarships, he said.With cumulative contributions of $52 million, India is emerging as the top contributor to the UN agency for Palestine known as the UN Relief and Works Agency, he said.