Minister’s Speech to Indian Ocean Conference
The following is the text of the speech delivered by Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi at the opening of 8th Indian Ocean Conference on the theme of “Voyages to New Horizons of Maritime Partnership”. To view a video of the speech click here.
“Your Excellencies, dear friends, I am honoured to welcome you to the Sultanate of Oman.
“We are delighted to host this 8th edition of the Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat.
“I thank the India Foundation for organising this event, supported by the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore, as well as all the hardworking team that have made it happen. I thank every one of you.
“Our theme, “Voyage to new horizons of maritime partnership”, compels us to reflect upon a shared maritime past, face present challenges, and chart a course for the future.
“Your presence here today reflects a shared principle: that the Indian Ocean is not just a body of water. It is a lifeline for economies, a channel of exchange, a source of connection, and a passage for friendship.
“Today, we have a responsibility to progress on matters such as marine stewardship, freedom of shipping, and tackling coastal communities’ climate challenges.
“This conference is also an opportunity to explore the broader potential of our ocean.
“Oman’s economic vision pivots on aligning economic progress with conservation in sectors such as the blue economy, port infrastructure, and logistics, and I hope this conference will enable us to develop shared strategies which are both mutually beneficial and sustainable.
“But our partnership extends far beyond maritime matters. It encompasses the energy transition, technology, our vision of the South, and much more.
“Dear Colleagues, the policy of the Sultanate of Oman emphasises commonalities.
“We choose to focus on shared ambitions, and view our diversity as a source of strength.
“Oman prioritises inclusive dialogue, multilateralism, and noninterference.
“Oman encourages others to make similar choices.
“Choose to trust. Choose to lead by example. And choose to listen and engage constructively and respectfully.
“With mutual respect and constructive engagement, we can understand and accommodate different perspectives, build on each other’s strengths, and benefit from our partners’ expertise.
“This ‘Friend to all’ approach helps us resolve shared problems in a judicious, inclusive, and sustainable way.
“History proves this. Oman has been a seafaring nation for millennia. For our ancestors, the ocean was a channel for trade and cultural exchange. This is still true today.
“Each community offered different skills, commodities, and insights.
“Through maritime partnership, we collectively reaped the rewards of this diversity.
“For exchange on this level, the world needed dialogue to set the terms, cooperation to enforce them, and trust in partners’ goodwill.
“And so the law of the sea was born.
“The Byzantines created maritime customs and legal principles as early as the 7th century. They set the stage for global cooperation in the seas.
“A thousand years later, in the early 17th century, Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius responded to sovereignty claims over the oceans in his publication ‘Mare Liberium’: the Free Sea.
“He insisted that the seas remain open to all. And in the following centuries, this became a universal principle.
“It laid the foundations for robust international maritime law, and increasing prosperity from the growth of trade.
“By the mid 20th century, shared maritime concerns, such as resource exploitation, and shared opportunities, such as technology, encouraged greater partnership.
“Almost all states recognised that they lacked the naval capacity to operate globally at all times. If they wanted to act against piracy, illegal fishing, and transnational crime, they needed partnership.
“This led UN member states to establish the Convention of the Law of the Sea.
“Dear guests, your presence here today reflects a recognition that this partnership remains the best way to safeguard our seas.
“Maritime security, freedom of navigation, and justice will not be guaranteed through antagonism, military force, and supremacist policies in which the rights of some come at the cost of others.
“Through partnership, the South can speak. We can collaborate on operational security. And we can listen to those actors destabilising our seas, understand their motives, and address issues at their root.
“Friends, just as we have chosen to view the Indian Ocean not as a barrier, but as a bridge, Oman views all parties as friends with whom we have far more in common than we have differences.
“The Sultanate of Oman is committed to fostering an inclusive Indian Ocean. One that ensures that all nations, South and North, have an equitable stake in the security and the prosperity of these waters.
“There are challenges. Not everyone shares our emphasis on peaceful engagement.
“But, as we launch the 8th Indian Ocean Conference, we must urge everyone to lead by example. We must not be carried by currents of antagonism.
“Partnership must be our anchor.
“Let us strengthen the multilateral platforms which promote collaboration, capacity building, and shared responsibility.
“Excellencies, dear friends, we are here because of our similarities as well as our differences.
“Our histories were all shaped by the same ocean. We may have adapted differently to its changing tides. But, today, it is a source of security, stability, and prosperity for us all.
“This conference is an opportunity for our similarities to bond us further, and for our differences to complement each other, as we collectively navigate towards new horizons of partnership, and a brighter future.
Thank you.”
