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India has urged the international community to collaborate in safeguarding key sea routes, stressing that uninterrupted maritime trade is vital for the steady delivery of crucial commodities such as food, fertilizers, and fuel. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, highlighted that food insecurity is a significant humanitarian consequence of armed conflict, often extending beyond the immediate conflict area.

During the UN Security Council's High-Level Open Debate on Tuesday (August 25, 2026), titled ‘Food Under Fire: The Security Council's Role in Mitigating Global and Local Food Crises,’ Parvathaneni emphasized that disruptions in energy markets, fertiliser supplies, maritime transport, humanitarian logistics, and agricultural trade have demonstrated how regional conflicts can jeopardize global food security, with developing nations bearing the brunt as they are highly reliant on imports.

He stressed that the immediate priority for the UN Security Council should be to mitigate conflict-related humanitarian impacts, including by facilitating safe access for humanitarian assistance and ensuring that sanctions regimes do not hinder such efforts. Parvathaneni underscored the importance of preserving the safety and freedom of navigation for commercial shipping, stating that secure and predictable maritime trade routes are crucial for the uninterrupted movement of essential commodities.

He called for collective efforts to protect critical sea lanes and maritime infrastructure, ensuring that legitimate commercial trade and humanitarian shipments can proceed without hindrance. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, noted that 2025 witnessed the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II and among the highest levels of acute global hunger, with at least 266 million people facing severe food insecurity.

Guterres described the simultaneous confirmation of two famines in Sudan and Gaza as a "shameful milestone" and highlighted that conflict and violence are the primary drivers of hunger in 12 out of 13 global hunger hotspots. India urged member states, international financial institutions, regional organizations, and development partners to work together to strengthen domestic agricultural production, diversify supply chains, enhance storage and logistics infrastructure, and promote climate-resilient agriculture.