SCO Summit: India hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in the virtual format today (July 4). The summit was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The three main issues that are on the agenda of the summit are terrorism, regional security and prosperity. Addressing the summit, PM Modi said, "We do not see the SCO as an extended neighbourhood, but rather as an extended family. Security, economic development, connectivity, unity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and environmental protection are the pillars of our vision for SCO."
The acronym "SECURE," coined by Prime Minister Modi at the 2018 SCO Qingdao Summit, inspired India's SCO chairship theme. Its initials stand for S: Security, E: Economic development, C: Connectivity, U: Unity, R: Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, E: Environmental protection.
The Prime Minister further said to harness the talent of the youth from SCO countries, several new platforms such as the Young Scientist Conclave, Authors Conclave, Startup Forum, and Youth Council have been organized. These platforms aim to channel the potential of SCO's youth and provide them with meaningful opportunities, he added.
Addressing the summit, PM Modi said India has established five pillars of cooperation within the SCO: Startup and innovation, traditional medicine, youth empowerment, digital inclusion, and shared Buddhist heritage. "Over the past two decades, the SCO has emerged as an important platform for peace, prosperity and development in the entire Eurasia region. India's thousands of years old cultural and people-to-people ties with this region are living testimony to our shared heritage," he added.
Speaking further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said terrorism is a threat to regional and global peace. "We will have to fight against terrorism...Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies and give shelter to terrorists. SCO should not hesitate to criticize such countries. SCO countries should condemn it. There should be no double standards on terrorism," he remarked.
PM Modi's tough stance on terrorism
PM Modi, in an apparent attack on Pakistan and China, called on member states to not hesitate to condemn countries that use cross-border terrorism as 'policy instruments' and shelter terrorists. "Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies and give shelter to terrorists," Prime Minister Modi said adding that the SCO should not hesitate to criticise such countries and "there should be no double standards on terrorism."
China, Pakistan participate in Summit
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif participated in the summit virtually. In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin was also in attendance. All the SCO Member States, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, have been invited to attend the Summit.
Meanwhile, Iran, Belarus, and Mongolia have also been invited to participate as observer states. Turkmenistan has also been invited as the guest of the Chair, as is tradition for the SCO. There will also be representatives from the Secretariat and SCO RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure), two of the SCO's bodies. Pakistan and China have indicated their desire to attend the summit, which is one of its main highlights. Pakistan is expected to attend the conference despite being isolated internationally for harbouring terrorists.
All of the SCO's top officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, attended the in-person meeting last year in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. India had assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SCO at the Samarkand Summit in September 2022.
India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region. India has shown a keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.
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About the SCO
It should be mentioned here that the SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations. The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.
(With inputs from agencies)
