Kochi, Mar 23 (PTI) The India-UK International Conference, organised by the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) in collaboration with the British High Commission, on Thursday assessed the trade and market opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region.
In the conference which deliberated on the potential and possibilities of the Indo-Pacific region, matters related to security, blue economy and exchange of marine resources were also discussed.
The conference also projected that India and other like-minded countries can work together to preserve a rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, CPPR said in a release.
Inaugurating the daylong conference, veteran journalist R Prasannan, an expert in defence and foreign affairs, said India has been making waves in maritime trade and security.
"We've learned the hard way that policing the waters in our region is difficult because they are too formidable for a single country and that peace is a very expensive option, especially when pitted against the waters to the east. We have been making waves in maritime trade and security. For us to be able to construct solutions for problems on other continents, we need to form a regional partnership," Prasannan said.
The speakers highlighted the growing relations between India and the United Kingdom, the goal to double the trade, its shared history, culture, and passion for sports, and the growing people-to-people connection.
The conference noted that the trade between India and UK has grown manifold over the years and post-Brexit, England has a huge scope for engaging with India, CPPR said.
"The Indo-Pacific region today has great potential and has gained traction after the Euro-Atlantic. The UK has come with a decisive determination to come up with an integrated review which has a prime focus on the Indo-Pacific. There is a current uproar to provide governance within the region, especially keeping ocean states in mind, where India and like-minded partners can work together to conserve a rules-based order that upholds democratic ideals within the region," CPPR said as a takeaway from the conference.
CPPR Chairman D Dhanuraj said India and the UK have deep political ties with strategic and economic partnerships ranging from trade to defence.
"It is very important to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries. The two countries are looking to enhance cooperation and collaboration with one another with the eighth round of Free Trade Agreement talks continuing as we speak," he said.
The conference dwelled on the importance of the Indo-UK roadmap, its vision for the Indo-Pacific region, and the new era which looks to inculcate bilateral collaborations to deal with the newly-changed international scenario, especially by targeting areas such as the northeastern Indo-Pacific region.