United Nations, Feb 28 (IANS): India has expressed readiness to contribute to international efforts to tackle the threat of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

"India stands ready to contribute to international efforts aimed at increasing effective cooperation among States in the region to tackle the threat of piracy and armed robbery at sea," India's Permanent Representative Hardeep Singh Puri told the UN Security Council Monday.

Piracy off both coasts of Africa shows the instability prevalent in the regions and the reach of organized terrorist and criminal groups, he said noting pirate attacks are adversely affecting the emerging oil industry of the region as well as the commercial shipping and mariners.

India has been at the forefront of highlighting the menace of piracy off the coast of Somalia and stressing the urgent need for the international community to work towards a comprehensive counter-piracy strategy, Puri said.

India is also concerned about the surge in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, including its economic and social cost," he said.

"While the two situations are quite different in proportion at this stage, it is quite possible that the failure of the international community to act decisively against piracy off the coast of Somalia could have spawned a new surge in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea," Puri said.

"Time has now come for the Council to translate the attention it has been paying to the problem into a concrete plan of action."

The Indian envoy also stressed that this being a regional problem, it is necessary that action should involve full cooperation of the international community, led by the United Nations, with the countries of West Africa and regional and sub-regional organizations.