As the U.S.-Israel war against Iran approached the close of its fourth week, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar discussed India and the Global South’s concerns about food, fuel, and fertilizer shortages with his counterparts from the G-7 advanced economies and others, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Mr. Jaishankar is on the second day of his visit to Vaux-de-Cernay, France, as one of several guest country representatives at the G-7 Foreign Ministers meeting.
He spoke at two sessions, one on global governance, peacekeeping and humanitarian aid delivery, and a second session on the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). The Minister stressed the importance of having resilient trade corridors, according to MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
“The uncertainties arising from the conflicts in West Asia only make a stronger case for more resilient trade corridors and supply chains,” Mr. Jaishankar said in a post on X. “At the same time, India’s FTAs with the European Union, EFTA [European Free Trade Association] members and UK have enhanced the utility of IMEC,” he added.
Freedom of navigation
“Underscored the importance of freedom of navigation for global economic security. As well as the threat of narco – terror linkages,” Mr. Jaishankar said.
Energy and commodity markets have been reeling under the impact of the conflict in West Asia, with Iran controlling the transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Other sessions at the G-7 meet included discussions on cooperation for critical minerals.
The Minister also held bilateral talks or pull-aside conversations with his counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Canada, the U.K., Ukraine, South Korea, and Brazil, as well as the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas.
South Africa’s exclusion
Responding to a question from The Hindu on whether India had protested the exclusion of South Africa from the upcoming G-7 Summit in June, or from the G-20 summit in December, Mr. Jaiswal said the matter was for the hosts to decide. South Africa has participated as an outreach country at G-7 meets, and is a member of the G-20.
France currently holds the presidency of the G-7, while the U.S. is hosting the G-20 meetings this year. The U.S. has reportedly pressured France to exclude South Africa, though Paris has denied this, saying it is inviting Kenya this year instead.
The U.S. and South Africa have had a series of recent diplomatic rifts, including over South Africa’s domestic policies on land reform as it attempts to correct the injustices of apartheid. The two also have different positions on Israel, against whom South Africa had filed a case at the International Court of Justice for its alleged genocide in Gaza.
