New Delhi: Against the backdrop of the supply chain disruptions precipitated by the West Asia conflict, India, as a large energy consumer, has stated its intention to work with “like-minded partners” to develop supply chain resilience. The Minister for External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, who participated in the ‘AZEC Plus’ meeting convened by Japan to discuss supply chain disruptions in the energy markets on Wednesday, said in a post on X after the meeting, “As a major energy consumer, India will work with like-minded partners to develop supply chain resilience.”
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The minister said that he also underlined India’s strong commitment to “safe and unimpeded transit passage of maritime shipping.” While emphasising that attacks on merchant shipping are “completely unacceptable,” Dr Jaishankar said, “Global growth demands that energy markets are not constricted.”
At the meeting, Japan announced the launch of a ‘Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia)’ aimed at strengthening regional supply resilience in energy and resources. The partnership was launched as the forum acknowledged that Asia was the most affected by the conflict in West Asia.
At the meeting, participants stressed on the importance of ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz while admitting that the disruption in the supply of energy resources via the narrow chokepoint had impacted Asian economies the most. “Given that Asian economies are deeply interconnected via supply chains, they concurred on the importance of joint efforts by Asian countries,” said a statement.
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AZEC Plus (Asia Zero Emission Community Plus) is an upgraded, Japan-led initiative, introduced in April this year, that expands the original AZEC framework to include energy security and supply chain resilience alongside decarbonisation. It focuses on securing energy supplies, protecting maritime routes, and investing in regional energy infrastructure. The AZEC Plus meeting was hosted by Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.
Apart from India, the meeting was attended by leaders and representatives from Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Korea, Lao, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, along with representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Meanwhile, India sustained its diplomatic engagement with various nations on the West Asia crisis. At an inter-ministerial press briefing on Wednesday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Dr Jaishankar spoke to his Israeli and Australian counterparts and discussed the situation in West Asia. “Yesterday, the External Affairs Minister spoke with the Foreign Minister of Israel and dicussed various aspects of the conflict in West Asia. He also spoke with the Foreign Minister of Australia where the two leaders shared views on the conflict in West Asia,” he said without elaborating on the details of those discussions.
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