EAM S Jaishankar
Credit: Reuters File Photo
New Delhi: With the Middle-East facing a multitude of challenges, "our shared interest" warrants strengthening forces of stability, peace and prosperity, and taking forward the plan to end the Gaza conflict is today a "widely shared priority", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday at a meeting with Arab foreign ministers.
In his opening remarks at the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting here, he also cited the conflicts in Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria, and their implications for the region and beyond.
"Contemplating these multitude of challenges, our shared interest warrants strengthening forces of stability, of peace and prosperity," he said.
Jaishankar spoke about the situation in West Asia, particularly about efforts to rebuild the conflict-torn Gaza.
"We meet at an important juncture when the global order is undergoing a transformation for a variety of reasons," he said.
He said politics, economics, technology and demography are all in full play.
"Nowhere is it more apparent than in West Asia or the Middle East where the landscape itself has undergone a dramatic change in the last year," the external affairs minister said.
This obviously "impacts all of us" and India, Jaishankar underlined, adding that to a considerable degree its implications are relevant for India's relationship with the Arab world as well.
"Multiple developments, each of consequence, have taken place in Middle East-West Asia over the last few years. Many of them have reverberated well beyond the region," he said.
Jaishankar said the Gaza situation in particular has been the focus of the international community.
"Many of us were present at the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit in October 2025. This evolved into the United Nations Security Council Resolution of November 2025. Taking forward the plan to end the Gaza conflict is a widely shared priority today. Various countries have made policy declarations on the peace plan, individually or collectively," he said.
The India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting, hosted by India, is being attended by foreign ministers of several countries.
Jaishankar said there are a number of other situations in the region that "merit our collective attention".
One is a conflict in Sudan that is "exacting a deadly toll on its society". Another one is in Yemen, with additional implications for safety of maritime navigation. Then there is concern about Lebanon, where India has troops committed as part of the UN peacekeeping efforts, he said.
In his address, Jaishankar also underscored the common threat of terrorism.