Thaindian News

Chandigarh, April 23 (IANS) Expressing concern over increasing piracy in the sea off Somalia, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur Saturday said it was difficult to control the situation in the absence of stable rule in the African country.

“Somalia has no stable government and there are armed groups in many parts of the country. Further, its strategic location adjacent to the busiest shipping lane in the world makes it easy target for terrorists and pirates,” Kaur told reporters here.

“There are efforts from various fronts, but pirates are shifting their operations more rapidly than the military forces can react. Besides, the Somali government has no control over the area where pirates usually operate,” she added.

Kaur, who represents Patiala in parliament, was in Chandigarh to attend a function organised by an NGO ‘Company of Merchant Mariners of India’.

On the Indian sailors still held hostage, Kaur said: “The government’s stand has always been firm on doing everything possible to protect our people. We always look for possible solutions to such problems.”

Kaur said that sea route trade is important for all countries and there is need for global cooperation to tackle the problem of pirates.

“Over 90 per cent of our trade by volume is carried by sea. India is now projected to become world’s fourth largest economy by 2020, after China, Japan and the US and our dependence on sea for trade is expected to expand accordingly,” she added.