New Delhi: India on Friday batted for better connectivity in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) region, but at the same time underlined that such projects should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states.
Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ( SCO) foreign ministers meeting in Goa on Friday, the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar highlighted India's point of view regarding connectivity. He further said that the prevailing situation in Afghanistan needs attention and efforts should be directed towards the welfare of the Afghan people.
He called for reform and modernisation of SCO, a move which will be supported by India. "Progress for the admission of Iran and Belarus as full Member States and making English the third Official language of SCO care constructive steps in this regard", he added.
Jaishankar reaffirmed that the menace of terrorism has continued unabated and taking our eyes off it would be detrimental to our security interests. He reiterated that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border terrorism.
"We must not allow anybody - individual or State - to hide behind non-state actors," he said. The External Affairs minister also told the SCO member states that current crises have exposed a credibility and trust deficit in the ability of global institutions to manage challenges in a timely and effective manner. He also appreciated the support of member countries for India’s proposal of the creation of two new working groups on startups and Innovation and traditional medicine.
He further spoke of India's priority of moving “towards a secure SCO” during the country's tenure of presidency. The EAM also sought Member States’ support for ensuring the timely finalisation of documents for approval of leaders at the SCO Summit in New Delhi.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental organisation established in 2001. The SCO membership includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan besides India. This is the first time India has taken over the presidency of the grouping since becoming a member in 2017. Delhi will host the SCO summit in July this year.
