Underlining the need to protect freedom of navigation amid assertiveness of Beijing in the South China Sea, Pedro Sanchez, President of the Government of Spain, on Tuesday said his country and India must contribute in building an Indo-Pacific region that is open and secure.

Speaking at an event organised by the Spain-India Forum and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in Mumbai, Sanchez maintained that the rules-based international order is at stake and hence Madrid and New Delhi must defend and work towards strengthening multilateral institutions. He said the world's centre of power has shifted towards Asia where India plays a key role. Sanchez announced that Spain is working to launch a new strategy for Asia which will revitalize his country's relations with the largest continent in the world. The central Indo-Pacific region accounts for 36 per cent of the world's GDP, pointed out the Spanish leader who is on an official visit to India. He said the vital region accounts for 60 per cent of world population and 50 per cent of global maritime trade which faces security challenges such as piracy, terrorism, natural disasters, arms and drug trafficking and illegal fishing. As this region has significant strategic natural resources such as oil, fisheries, and critical mineral reserves, security challenges are more significant here, Sanchez pointed out. "We must, therefore, protect freedom of navigation and overflight. India and Spain must contribute to a secure Indo-Pacific," he said. Sanchez maintained that to ensure peaceful existence among countries, principles like territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations must be abided by. He said India and Spain must work together in areas like the protection of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need, and defence of human rights and democracy. Sanchez said Artificial Intelligence (AI) has extraordinary potential, but stressed the need to calculate the risk of misuse of this transformative technology. "As our countries improve their technological capabilities, AI cooperation can transform key sectors. It can also help address challenges related to the spread of false information that threaten our democracies," Sanchez noted. International cooperation in AI is essential for a safer, more egalitarian and open world, emphasised the visiting Spanish leader. "AI must be ethical. We must establish strong ethical standards and accountability mechanisms to ensure that it respects human rights and promotes social good," he added. "We should all participate in the establishment of this comprehensive framework for the global governance of digital technology and AI," Sanchez said. In order to do so, building AI capacity in the Global South is critical. This involves creating a global network of AI research and development centres, providing targeted training programmes and ensuring access to high performing computing resources, he observed.