London, Mar 10 (PTI) The disruptions to the world order due to ongoing conflicts can be overcome by the Commonwealth as the largest gathering of democratic countries by pooling its resources to move forward together, Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh has said.
Singh concluded his UK visit to attend the 26th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM) with a special reception at St James’ Palace in London on Monday.
The minister, who also holds the portfolio for environment, forest and climate change, discussed aspects of climate action during an audience with King Charles III — the host of the annual Commonwealth-Day reception.
“His Majesty has a very keen interest in the conservation and preservation of the environment, and he said that we have to do this so that our generations do not suffer,” Singh told PTI.
This year’s Commonwealth-Day theme centred around “Unlocking opportunities together for a prosperous Commonwealth” and followed a weekend of packed engagements, with Singh leading the Indian delegation at the wide-ranging discussions.
“At the (CFAMM) meeting, the overarching thought echoed by all the countries was that we have to make our Commonwealth more relevant in today’s times.
One of the major points of the discussions was how the countries can use their comparative and competitive advantages for positive, sustainable growth for all our countries,” Singh said.
Asked if the conflict in West Asia featured heavily during the discussions, the minister shared: “The present disruptions and the changes that are happening in the world order were very much a part of our discussions at the meet.
“We are the largest gathering of democratic countries — some of them are developed, some are developing — and we all just have to put our human resources and natural resources together to move forward. Together, we can solve the uncertainties that we are facing today regarding supply-chain disruption, regarding energy security.” Singh said India, with its strong information technology and digital public infrastructure, can be an important resource for other developing countries in the organisation.
“We all are very happy with the way the Secretary General (Shirley Botchwey) is taking the reforms of the Commonwealth forward and putting in measures that make it more inclusive, more democratic and more transparent,” he added.
Earlier, the MoS met the UK’s Minister for the Indo-Pacific and Minister for Equalities Seema Malhotra at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Their discussions revolved around the importance of a “free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific, including maritime security collaboration under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the proposed Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (RMSCE)”.
Following floral tributes at the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar and bilateral engagements on the sidelines of the CFAMM, Singh wrapped up the UK leg of his two-nation tour, which takes him next to Chile. PTI AK RC SCY
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