Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for the protection of seafarers and the security of maritime trade routes during an outreach session at the G7 summit in France, where he addressed leaders including United States President Donald Trump, who was seated beside him.

The G7 summit brings together the heads of France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

“We welcome the progress made in peace efforts in West Asia,” Modi said. “This conflict has caused loss of life and property in our friendly countries in West Asia.”

Modi said disruptions to maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz had affected the global economy and that many Indian civilians had lost their lives.

“The safety of seafarers, who connect all nations through global maritime trade, is our responsibility,” he added. “We must ensure that sea routes remain safe, and seafarers can carry out their work without fear.”

Modi made the remarks in the backdrop of a series of attacks by US forces on vessels in West Asia on which Indian seafarers had been travelling.

On June 10, three Indian seafarers were killed when the US military struck a Palau-flagged commercial tanker off the coast of Oman. Twenty-one members of the crew had been rescued.

A day later, 20 Indian seafarers on board another ship were evacuated after it was struck off the Omani coast.

On June 8, 24 Indian seafarers were rescued from a tanker Marivex after it was targeted by the US.

Speaking during a session on forging new partnerships and rebuilding international solidarity, Modi said the world was increasingly interconnected and that energy security, food security, health security, cybersecurity and economic prosperity were linked across borders.

“Today, the world does not suffer from a shortage of resources, it suffers from a shortage of trust,” the prime minister said. “And the future of our partnerships depends on rebuilding this trust.”

Referring to the international order established after the world wars, he said systems created to promote peace, stability and prosperity had been founded on trust, but that this trust had been eroded in recent years.

“The Covid-19 [pandemic] has shown us how hollow the claims of trust and solidarity were,” Modi said.

He said India had long viewed the world as one family and had based its international engagement on the principle of “sarvajana hitaya, sarvajana sukhaya,” meaning welfare and happiness for all.

“India believes: The true test of partnership is not what we build for others, but what we enable others to build for themselves,” Modi said.

The prime minister added that countries of the Global South had “great expectations” from the global community but underlined that they wanted to be partners in development rather than beneficiaries.

He called for a move beyond the donor-recipient model towards partnerships based on equality and dignity.

Modi concluded by saying India was ready to work with international partners to address these shared challenges.

Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.