“We welcome the ceasefire reached and hope that it will lead to a lasting peace” in the region, said a statement by India’s External Affairs Ministry. “As we have continuously advocated earlier, de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy are essential to bring an early end to the ongoing conflict,” it said. Stressing that the conflict has already “caused immense suffering to people and disrupted global energy supply and trade networks,” the ministry said: “We expect that unimpeded freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce would prevail through the Strait of Hormuz.”
