HomeDeputy Secretary of State for Management and ResourcesRemarks & Releases...Deputy Secretary Verma’s Virtual Remarks at the Seventh Indian Ocean Conference Ministerial Plenary Session on “Building a Peaceful Region”

# 									Deputy Secretary Verma’s Virtual Remarks at the Seventh Indian Ocean Conference Ministerial Plenary Session on “Building a Peaceful Region”							

Remarks

Richard R. Verma, Deputy Secretary of State  for Management and Resources

February 10, 2024

Hello and thank you to Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong for hosting this year’s Indian Ocean Conference. Thanks also to Minister Jaishankar and the India Foundation for their partnership in helping to organize this important forum each year.

Just last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Australia, Fiji, and Indonesia to affirm our shared priorities for the Indo-Pacific region – from the Blue Pacific to the Western Indian Ocean – we are engaging broadly to promote prosperity and security in the 21st century.

And though I wish I could have stayed and joined you in Perth, I know our representatives will demonstrate well the United States’ enduring commitment to collective action to advance peace and prosperity in the region.

As this plenary’s theme “Building a Peaceful Region” recognizes, when we advance a free, open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient region, we can build a more prosperous and secure world.

We see this in recent events reminding us that protecting fragile supply chains and the free flow of commerce is vital to ensuring food, medicine, and energy supplies reach people in need.

Nowhere is this truer than in the Indian Ocean – the crossroads for nearly 10 billion tons of cargo each year – commerce that supports the lives and livelihoods of the region’s 2.7 billion people.

We also know that partnership is critical to maritime security. I’d therefore like to express the United States’ appreciation for Sri Lanka’s deployment of one of its U.S.-donated vessels to the Arabian Sea to support Operation Prosperity Guardian, as well as their recent commitment to join the Combined Maritime Forces in December. This was a significant step and clear example of Sri Lanka’s leadership to protect global trade and enhance international maritime security.

We also deeply appreciate the Indian Navy’s increased deployments to the north Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as well as India’s decision to join the Combined Maritime Forces last year. The United States looks forward to closer coordination and information sharing to respond to threats to peace in the region.

This must also be a decisive decade on climate action. That is why the United States is committed to working with partners to further the region’s climate resilience. This includes engaging in multilateral bodies like the Indian Ocean Rim Association, where I visited in May, to advance support for its blue carbon policy work. We look forward to greater collaboration with IORA in 2024.

Since returning to the Department last year, I’ve visited Comoros and Fiji and many places in between. At every stop I see our teams and yours working hard to find new ways to further our shared climate priorities.

These interactions fuel understanding about ways our assistance can support climate change adaptation and mitigation programs across the region. They identify opportunities to support innovation and expand access to affordable clean energy.

It is this close cooperation that supports President Biden’s vision for, as he put it, “a positive future for the region together with friends and partners.”
        - It is a vision that includes investing a half billion dollars in a port initiative in Sri Lanka, facilitating greater maritime trade throughout the region.
        - It’s a vision that includes our joint commitment with Australia to enhance our engagement in the Indo-Pacific bilaterally and with our regional partners.
        - It’s a vision that includes opening new diplomatic missions across the region, including in Maldives and Blue Pacific nations.
        - And it’s a vision that includes working with partners such as Fiji to enhance regional connectivity.

As the President has said, this vision is a “long haul” one. One that is furthered by collaboration and propelled by the momentum built during conferences such as this one.

So without further ado, I will turn things back over to your hosts with thanks for the opportunity to speak and tremendous gratitude for your efforts.

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