In his opening address at the virtual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, Indian PM Narendra Modi took a veiled swipe at Pakistan by urging the member-states to criticise countries using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
Modi was speaking at the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit virtually, which saw the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif, among others.
Addressing the SCO Summit. https://t.co/oO9B1nnXer
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 4, 2023
Fight Against Terrorism, Radicalisation
Modi highlighted that terrorism is the primary threat to regional and global peace and said there is a need to fight this challenge.
“Terrorism has become a major threat to regional and global peace [...] we must unite in our fight against terrorism,” the PM said.
He stressed that terrorism in all forms needs to be fought, and there is no place for double standards in severe issues like this.
Modi further remarked, “Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies, [and] provide shelter to terrorists,” and SCO members should not hesitate in criticising such countries.
The Indian PM sought the cooperation of SCO members to curb terror financing and said that the RATS mechanism of SCO could be used to this end.
RATS, or the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO, is a permanent body of the SCO to facilitate coordination and interaction among the SCO members in fighting against terrorism, extremism, and separatism.
Additionally, Modi said that there is a need to stop the spread of radicalisation among youth. “The joint statement issued today on the subject of radicalisation symbolises our shared commitment,” the PM remarked.
Pakistan's #ShehbazSharif warned against the use of terrorism as a 'bat for diplomatic point-swearing'. https://t.co/QmNKY35WGk
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) July 4, 2023
India’s SCO Chairmanship
In his speech, Modi said India sees the region as an extended family, not just an extended neighbourhood.
He highlighted India’s ancient cultural and people-to-people relations within the region, and to that end, urged the SCO members to work together to ensure political stability and security in Afghanistan.
The Indian PM congratulated Iran on becoming a member of the grouping and welcomed Belarus’ signing of a Memorandum of Obligation, which will pave its way to become an SCO member.
The SCO, established in June 2001, is an eight-member organisation with China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as its members. India joined the grouping as an observer state in 2005 and became a full member in 2017. India is holding the chairmanship of the SCO for 2022-2023.