Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal has said Nepal attaches great importance to the Indian ocean, its security, sustainability and economic potential.

Speaking at the Fifth Indian Ocean Conference, IOC 2021, in Abu Dhabi, UAE on Sunday, Paudyal said the government’s priority is to link Nepal’s highlands with the Indian Ocean with seamless ‘hardware’ and ‘software’ of connectivity and this includes roads, railways, waterways and power grid interconnection.

India Foundation and the government of the UAE have jointly organised the conference where delegates from the Indian Ocean region discussed pressing issues of the region including the Covid pandemic, vaccine cooperation, economic cooperation and climate change, among others. The two-day conference concluded on Sunday.

“Nepal is committed to increasing the share of clean energy and achieving net-zero carbon emission by 2045, contributing to the region’s ecology,” said Paudyal in his statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Nepal stands ready to work with all countries in the Indian Ocean region to address the challenges pertaining to ecology, economy and epidemic,” he added.

Nepal mostly does trading via the Indian Ocean so it has also been considered as a lifeline for Nepal.

Even for landlocked countries like Nepal, the Indian Ocean is a lifeline for the majority of its external trade, so peace and stability in the Indian Ocean are important for all of us, Paudyal added.

“With its vast spread, the Indian Ocean is rich in resources. It provides important sea lanes that serve as arteries of the international economy. Routes for more than three-fourth of the world’s sea-borne oil, and one third of the global trade, the Indian Ocean’s significance is doubly attested–in economic dimension as well as in its strategic value,” said Paudyal while highlighting the importance of “blue economy”.