MONROVIA/NEW DELHI: Liberia and India have joined hands to strengthen global efforts to protect commercial shipping and seafarers, with India External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar saying that attacks on merchant vessels “must stop.”
Minister Jaishankar said the world had witnessed unacceptable attacks on commercial shipping and merchant mariners in recent months. “They are legally and morally indefensible,” he stated.
“These have occurred from the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf to the Red Sea and the Black Sea. We believe that there can be no justification for such violence and loss of lives. Put simply, these attacks must stop,” Jaishankar said in his remarks to the media on Friday at the conclusion of the inaugural meeting of the Group of Friends on the Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers.
The occasion was held on the sidelines of the UN High-Level Week 2026.
Addressing the media alongside Liberia’s Foreign Minister, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Minister Jaishankar briefed reporters about the new initiative led by India and Liberia.
“This is the Group of Friends on the Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers,” he said.
As a major source country for seafarers, India has joined hands with Liberia, which hosts the world’s largest shipping registry by tonnage, on the issue, the EAM stated.
“We have brought together other states with similar interests, as well as those who are major shipowners. Our first meeting of the Group of Friends was, I believe, attended by 25 countries this morning,” he said.
He said the initiative was an endeavor to draw greater global attention to issues concerning seafarers and the commercial shipping industry.
He stated that nearly two million seafarers operate the world’s merchant fleet, often navigating choppy waters, both literally and metaphorically.
“Recent global developments underline the threats posed to the safety and security of seafarers, including prolonged confinement on board, delayed crew changes and repatriation, separation from families, psychological distress, quite apart from the physical attacks that many of them have been subjected to,” the EAM said.
“Now you will all appreciate the significance of this initiative if you recall that maritime shipping accounts for four-fifths of global trade. And that trade, I remind you, was US$ 35 trillion last year,” he said.
“This Group, which we have started today, will be an inclusive, voluntary and action-oriented platform aimed at deepening cooperation among member states and other stakeholders. It will promote the exchange of views, sharing of experiences and practical cooperation. It will complement and strengthen the existing international frameworks, mandates and instruments in these areas,” the EAM disclosed.
He said discussions and deliberations within the Group would focus on issues of importance relating to shipping and seafarers.
The EAM indicated that members of the Group would join hands to highlight and advance these issues in various formats, both plurilateral and multilateral, including at the UN, and most importantly at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other relevant forums.
Overall efforts would be made to strengthen the collective voice of the Group and advance issues of common interest, he stressed.
The EAM said India and Liberia would serve as co-chairs of the Group.
“We have had a very, very productive session this morning. We will meet regularly and hope to build on that as we move forward. And we agreed that the detailing of this initiative will be done in a consultative manner, based on the inputs and views that we heard today,” he said.
“The world is today beset by conflicts and confrontations. These are threatening the basic needs of the international community, including food, fuel, fertilizer and finance — the 4Fs. Our initiative is meant to add to the factors of stability and confidence in what is otherwise an uncertain and turbulent world, and to signal that the international community cannot just be a spectator or indeed a victim of violence. We are hopeful that it will make some difference,” the EAM stated. Courtesy: The Statesman, India
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