NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday chaired the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' meeting and stressed on fixing accountability on those who aid terrorism. He also emphasised that the robust framework of regional cooperation must involve mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Addressing the meeting in New Delhi, Rajnath asserted that any kind of terrorist act or support to it in any form is a major crime against humanity and peace and prosperity cannot coexist with this menace.
Rajnath called upon the SCO member states to collectively work towards eliminating terrorism in all its forms and fix accountability on those who aid or fund such activities.
India has always maintained that terrorism emanating from territories under Pakistan's control remains a core concern in bilateral relations. It has consistently stressed the need for Pakistan to take credible, irreversible and verifiable action to end cross border terrorism against India.
“If a nation shelters terrorists, it not only poses a threat to others, but for itself too. Radicalisation of youth is a cause of concern not only from the point of view of security, but it is also a major obstacle in the path of socio-economic progress of society. If we want to make the SCO a stronger and more credible international organisation, our top-most priority should be to effectively deal with terrorism,” the Defence Minister said.
Elaborating on the Indian vision of a robust framework of regional cooperation, Rajnath added that this should "mutually respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states by taking care of their legitimate interests.”
“New Delhi strives to further bolster trust and cooperation among the members of the SCO as it believes in maintaining peace and security based on the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations," he asserted.
The 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control with China is tense while both nations have deployed a high density of troops in Eastern Ladakh and there is precautionary deployment all across the LAC.
Rajnath called for concerted efforts by the SCO member states, so that the region, with limitless possibilities in today’s multilateral world, shifts to the mindset of ‘great gain from win-win paradigm’ from ‘great game of zero sum, win-lose paradigm’. “India has always followed the principle of ‘Let us walk together & move forward together’. Every era has a zeitgeist (defining idea). The zeitgeist of the present era is ‘Win-win cooperation for the great gain’,” he said.
Rajnath also touched upon the two defence-related activities launched by India, as the SCO chair, to increase interoperability among member states. These are a workshop on ‘Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)’ and a seminar on ‘defence think-tanks of SCO countries’. Both the events witnessed enthusiastic participation from all SCO countries.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Defence Minister described the SCO as an evolved and strong regional organisation, underlining that India views it as an important entity to promote defence cooperation among member states.
At the end of the deliberations, all the SCO member countries signed a protocol, expressing their collective will to make the region secure, peaceful and prosperous.
Addressing media persons after the meeting, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane stated that all the member nations arrived at a consensus on several areas of cooperation, including dealing with terrorism, security of vulnerable populations in various countries as well as HADR. He stated that all member states were unanimous in their statements that terrorism, in all its forms, must be condemned and eliminated. He exuded confidence that many areas identified for cooperation will be acted upon in the times to come and India, as the SCO chair, will lead from the front in ensuring a safe and secure future for the region and the world as a whole.
Defence Ministers of China (General Li Shangfu); Russia (General Sergei Shoigu); Iran (Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani); Belarus (Lt Gen Khrenin VG); Kazakhstan (Col Gen Ruslan Zhaxylykov); Uzbekistan (Lt Gen Bakhodir Kurbanov); Kyrgyzstan (Lt Gen Bekbolotov Baktybek Asankalievich) and Tajikistan (Col Gen Sherali Mirzo) attended the meeting. The ministers discussed issues of common concern including issues of regional and international security under the SCO charter during the meeting.
India is the chair of the SCO in 2023. The SCO is an intergovernmental organisation established in 2001. Its membership includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan besides India. Apart from the member states, two observer countries Belarus and Iran also participated in the meeting.