We are committed to maritime security, freedom of navigation and peaceful settlement of disputes in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR),” said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj while inaugurating a three-day international conference on maritime trade in the IOR countries organised here on Friday.
Swaraj said maritime security is an important dimension of India’s bilateral relations with all Indian Ocean littoral States and through various formal and informal structures currently in place. “We have been working with like-minded countries to preserve the integrity, inviolability and security of maritime domain,” she added.
As the region is facing problems like piracy, terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal fishing and oil spills, she said, maritime security needs to be strengthened to create a path for development of the blue economy.
Taking the names of IOR countries, Swaraj said time has come to work together to promote increased cooperation in trade, tourism and investment, infrastructure development, marine science and technology, sustainable fisheries and protection of marine environment in the region.
In the IOR region, she said, global trade expanded by 3.5 times from $1,224 billion in 2003 to $4,232 billion in 2012 whereas intra-regional trade increased by more than four times from $302 billion to $1,230 billion over the same period.
She told about the rich heritage of Odisha by giving example of Boitha Bandana Utsav (worshipping of the ships). The festival of Baliyatra on Karthik Purnima in November is a continuation of this tradition, she added.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also said that Odisha or the ancient Kalinga has a rich maritime history by citing the examples of excavated materials ranging from Kushan coins, Roman pottery fragments and other historical things. “The Kalingan merchants exported high value items like diamond, precious stones and spices to Roman Empire and ivory, betel nuts, pepper, fine clothes and fabrics to China and Ceylon,” said Patnaik.
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said India would play a greater role for development of the region.
A postal stamp on ‘Indian Ocean and Rajendra Chola I’ commemorating the conference organised by the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies (ISCS) along with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) was released. Two books related to maritime history were also released.
Among others, RN Ravi from the Prime Minister’s Office, ISCS Secretary Arindam Mukherjee, Chief Post Master General (Odisha) Tilak Dey and RIS Director General Prof Sachin Chaturvedi were present.