Hyderabad: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday made a veiled attack on Pakistan over cross-border terrorism at the ongoing Shanghjai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa. In his address on the 2nd and concluding day of the SCO summit, EAM Jaishankar said that the “menace of terrorism continues unabated”.
Cross-border terrorism: “We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border terrorism. Combating terrorism is one of the original mandates of SCO,” Jaishankar said with Pakistan Foreign Minister also in attendance.
Jaishankar further said that as SCO chair, India has initiated an “unprecedented engagement with SCO observers and dialogue partners by inviting them to participate in more than 14 social-cultural events”.
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English as 3rd official language of SCO: The EAM also sought the support of member states for the long-standing demand of India to make English as the 3rd official language of SCO, to enable a deeper engagement with English-speaking member states and will take the work of the organisation to a wider global audience.
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The External Affairs Minister said that India attaches great importance to development of multifaceted cooperation in SCO and to promotion of peace, stability, economic development, prosperity and closer interaction between our people. The EAM said that as the chair of the SCO, Prime Minister has articulated India's priorities as moving towards a SECURE SCO.
SECURE stands for Security, Economic Development, Connectivity Unity, he said that they have remained as India's priority in the course of our work this year. "Under India's maiden SCO presidency, India has successfully concluded more than a 100 meetings and events including 15 ministerial level meetings and we have received enthusiastic response from members states, observers and dialogue partners of SCO as well," he added.
Jaishankar said that Many of the events in India were first of the events in the framework of SCO. "Gratifying to note that the further deepening of the bonds of friendship and cooperation in SCO and events like the SCO Millet Food Festival, film festival, cultural showcase at Surajkumbh Mela, the SCO Tourism Mart the conference on shared Buddhist Heritage were all successfully hosted by India," he said.
The EAM said he was particularly delighted to note that Varanasi as the first cultural and tourist capital for 2022-23 hosted several colorful events with active participation from member states. "As SCO chair we have initiated an unprecedented engangement with SCO observers and dialogue partners inviting them to participate in more than 14 social-cultural events," he said.
COVID-19 and geo-political upheavals: The EAM said that as a result of COVID and geopolitical upheavals, the world is today facing a multitude of challenges. These events have disrupted global supply chains, leading to serious impact on the supply of energy, food and fertilizers and cascading effects on developing nations, he said.
He said these crises have also exposed a credibility and trust deficit in the ability of global institutions to manage challenges in a timely and efficient manner. The EAM however added that these challenges are also an opportunity for the members states of the SCO to collaborate and address them collectively.
"With more than 40 percent world's population within the SCO our collective efforts will surely have a global impact. While the world was faced with COVID and its consequences, the menace of terrorism continues unabated. Taking our eyes off the menace will be detrimental to our security interest. The channel of finances for terrorist activities must be seized and blocked without distinction," Jaishankar said.
Situation in Afghanistan: EAM Jaishankar also delved into the unfolding situation in Afghanistan. He said the situation in Afghanistan remains at the centre of the SCO's attention. "Our efforts should be directed towards the welfare of the Afghani people. Our immediate priorities include providing humanitarian aid, ensuring a truly inclusive and representative government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking and preserving the rights of children, women and minorities," he said.
'India willing to share experience with world over global challenges': Jaishankar said that India has always stood for multilateral approaches to address global challenges and has always been a willing partner in sharing our expertise and experiences. "India's own achievement in the field of startups and innovation is a remarkable journey, he said.
"Today there are more than 70000 startups in India of which over a 100 are unicorns. We stand ready to share our experience with member states. Grateful to member states for supporting India's proposal to create two new working groups on start-ups and innovation and on traditional medicines last year. Happy to note that the regulations to operationalize these working groups have been approved by member states," he said.
Need to reform and modernize SCO: EAM Jaishankar noted that the SCO is in its 3rd decade of its existence and this is an opportune time for its reform and modernisation to keep the organisation relevant in a rapidly transforming world. "I am pleased to note that the discussions on the issues of reform and modernization of the organisation have already commenced. I assure you that India will extend its constructive and active support for this process," he said.
Iran and Belarus in SCO: Jaishankar said that he was happy to note the progress in the ongoing process of the admission of Iran and Belarus as four members of the SCO and thanked the secretariat for their efforts in that direction. He said he was delighted that four new member partners will sign MoU for their association with SCO today. "I welcome our new dialogue partners and hope to intensify engagement with them in the SCO format," he said.
SCO declaration and four thematic joint statements: EAM Jaishankar said that India has proposed a new SCO summit declaration and four other thematic joint statements in cooperation on deradicalisation strategies, promotion of millets, sustainable lifestyle to address climate change and digital transformation. He sought the support of members states in timely finalization of these documents for approval by our leaders at the SCO summit.
Earlier, EAM S Jaishankar welcomed Foreign Ministerr of various countries on the second day of the SCO Foreign Ministers' summit in Goa. EAM Dr S Jaishankar welcomed Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari besides Foreign Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan for the meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Goa.
Besides, the External Affairs Minister also welcomed SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming for the Meeting on Friday.
