New Delhi: Recognizing the “significant impact” of the conflict in West Asia on the global economy and its impact on India, the PM Narendra Modi-led Cabinet Committee on Security on Sunday discussed steps to diversify sources of imports for chemicals, pharma, petrochemicals and other industrial sectors, while relieving fertilizer and coal stocks.“We discussed extensively on short, medium and long-term measures, including ensuring continued availability of fertilizers for farmers, diversifying import sources for key sectors, promoting exports to new destinations and more. We are committed to protecting our citizens from the impact of conflict,” the PM posted on Twitter after the meeting of the panel comprising Home, Defence, Finance and External Affairs ministers.The assessment was that there may not be any significant domestic impact in the immediate term, but there is a need to prepare for the medium and long term. The challenge before policy makers at present is that there is no clarity on when and how the conflict will end.“The ongoing conflict in West Asia will have significant short-, medium- and long-term impact on the global economy and its impact on India was assessed and both immediate and long-term measures were discussed,” an official statement said. Sunday’s meeting was also attended by other ministers, including agriculture, health, chemicals, power, shipping, civil aviation, commerce and industry, I&B, food and civil supplies and railways.While Modi has been in talks with his counterparts from other countries, particularly the Gulf region – which is home to a large Indian diaspora and the source of a large portion of energy imports – this was the first meeting at the CCS level to formulate strategies with an assessment that the impact of the conflict is likely to last for some time.The Prime Minister has suggested a dedicated group of ministers and a panel of secretaries to deal with the issue, which will include detailed stakeholder consultations through regional groups. He has also asked the Center to coordinate with the states to stop black marketing and hoarding.The PM said that conflict is an evolving situation and the entire world is affected in some way or the other. In such a situation, all efforts should be made to protect civilians from the effects of this conflict. An official statement said the PM directed that all organs of the government should work together to ensure minimum inconvenience to citizens.It said that several measures proposed by various ministries will be formulated and implemented in the coming days.At the meeting, Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan gave a presentation on the global situation and the mitigation measures taken so far and those being planned by various departments. “The expected impact on sectors such as agriculture, fertiliser, food security, petroleum, power, MSMEs, exporters, shipping, trade, finance, supply chain and all affected sectors and measures taken to address it were discussed. “The overall macroeconomic scenario in the country and further measures to be taken were also discussed,” the statement said.