Good morning, everyone!

It is great pleasure for me to participate in this very important Conference. I would like to thank Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF and Vladimir Vasilev, Executive Director, The Northern Forum, for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on this occasion.

On the face of it, India is geographically distant from the Arctic. Yet, one of the most important factors of India’s economic and food security, the monsoons, are intimately connected to the Arctic in profound ways. The quantum of Arctic ice cover and intensity of Arctic winters affect entities such as the polar vortex and jet streams, which feed into global phenomena such as the El Nino and the Indian Ocean Dipole. These, and other complex interactions, determine the fate of a billion and a half people dependent upon the success of India's agricultural seasons.

At the same time, Indian actions have a deep resonance in the Arctic. The energy use and ecological footprint of the same billion and a half people — through their choices of solar energy versus coal burning, EVs versus fossil fuel-based vehicles, etc., effect the speed of global warming and the Arctic ice melt through a feedback loop.

But India's engagement in the Arctic is not anchored only in its environmental interests. It is also important for us to preserve our scientific interests and to protect our strategic and commercial interests. The influence of the Arctic on connectivity, resource development, and big power confrontation is not completely understood; it is ongoing and unfolding. We therefore, closely monitor all these vectors in the Arctic.

India's engagement in the Arctic has its foundation in the signing of the Svalbard Treaty in 1920. India is the only developing country, apart from China, that has an Arctic research base - Himadri - there, which was established in 2008.

We see multiple tangible benefits through our presence in the Arctic. For example, the availability of the Northern Sea Route could help India in reducing the cost of supplies, especially energy, from Northern Russia. Previously inaccessible offshore areas may also become available for extraction of potentially vast reserves of rare earths, oil and natural gas.

On the flip side, the effect of global warming on the Arctic region, and on India, are multiple and poorly understood. These will impact, amongst others, navigation, climate, energy security, sourcing of strategic minerals, and scientific research. There are great risks of permanent damage to the delicate Arctic ecosystem. A mad dash to lay claim to Arctic resources will exacerbate territorial claims and geopolitical tensions.

India occupies a unique position in the Global South and North. Firmly located in the Global South, India faces its own major developmental deficits and has many promises to keep in uplifting the lives of its large and diverse population. Our environmental challenges are multifaceted and addressing them has acquired urgency. At the same time, India is the fastest growing major economy in the world. We have achieved significant successes across a range of scientific activities. Our large and skilled human resource pool is engaged in a wide variety of academic pursuits with the goal of addressing India's developmental concerns. Indian industrial prowess drives our economic growth and that of our partners.

All these factors combine to ensure that India acts as a unique vehicle to prioritize the goals of the Global South, refracting the developmental requirements through India's own experiences. India's philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or “One Earth, One Family, One Future” drives its global endeavours. Towards fulfilment of such objectives, India has already hosted three Voice of the Global South Summits with the overarching theme of “An Empowered Global South for a Sustainable Future”.

Industrialization in the North has triggered climate change. However, the deleterious effects of these changes are being experienced in a profound manner in the South. In turn, now, the South too is contributing to climate change. It is now clear that crises at any geographical location, even if distant, impacts the economy, market and even the very existence of multiple countries. Therefore, the North and South with their disparities need to come together, to address the challenges before they become unmanageable or irreversible.