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With Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif in attendance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday stated the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should not hesitate to criticise nations that “use cross-border terrorism as an instrument” of their policies because there can be “no place for double standards on such serious matters”.
PM Modi hosted the Summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State in virtual mode from 12:30 pm to 3 pm on Tuesday, as India holds the presidency of grouping with eight member nations this year. The leaders of the SCO countries adopted a declaration at the end of the meeting, pledging “to counter the activities of terrorist, separatist and extremist groups.”
Notably, India abstained from signing in support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which intends to develop trade routes between China and the rest of the world.
Here’s a look at what happened at the SCO Summit.
Speaking about cross-border terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted at the SCO Summit that there was "no place for double standards on such serious matters."
“Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies, provide shelter to terrorists. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations. There should be no place for double standards on such serious matters,” he said.
Delhi has, on several occasions, pointed out that Islamabad uses terrorist groups as instruments of "state policy," while Beijing has been blocking the listing of Pakistan-based terrorists at the UN Security Council (UNSC).
In the New Delhi declaration issued at the end of the conference, India refused to sign on the paragraph supporting the Belt and Roads Initiative (BRI), which is Chinese President Jinping’s pet project.
The BRI paragraph in the New Delhi declaration of 2023 reads, “Reaffirming their support for China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) initiative, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan and Republic of Uzbekistan note the ongoing work to jointly implement this project, including efforts to link the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union and BRI.”
India had refrained from signing a similar note in the SCO's Samarkand declaration in 2022, as the foreign ministry maintains that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor violates India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The New Delhi declaration signed by the member nations at the end of the meeting stated that the international community must come together to "counter the activities of terrorist, separatist and extremist groups, paying special attention to preventing the spread of religious intolerance, aggressive nationalism, ethnic and racial discrimination, xenophobia, ideas of fascism and chauvinism."
"The member states note the inadmissibility of interference in the internal affairs of states under the pretext of countering terrorism and extremism, as well as unacceptability of using terrorist, extremist and radical groups for mercenary goals," it added.
Addressing the world leaders, including Russian President Putin, Modi also made remarks about the global impact of the war in Ukraine without mentioning it explicitly.
"The present times mark a crucial phase in global affairs. In a world surrounded by conflicts, tensions and pandemics, food, fuel, and fertiliser crises are a significant challenge for all nations," the PM stated.
Addressing the meeting, Putin claimed that the Russian people were "united as never before," days after a paramilitary group had conducted a short-lived mutiny in the nation.
Speaking via video link from the Kremlin, Putin praised the SCO for "playing an increasingly significant role in international affairs, making a real contribution to maintaining peace and stability, ensuring sustainable economic growth of the participating states, and strengthening ties between peoples."
He thanked the SCO nations for supporting the Russian authorities during the armed rebellion mounted by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, and said the West had turned Ukraine into “a virtually hostile state — anti-Russia.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the “hydra-headed monster” of terrorism and extremism whether committed by “individuals, groups or at state level” must be fought with full vigour and conviction.
“Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including state terrorism, must be condemned in clear and unambiguous terms. There can be no justification for the killing of innocent people regardless of the cause or pretext,” Sharif was quoted as saying.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the SCO member countries to safeguard regional peace and ensure common security besides focussing on pragmatic cooperation to speed up economic recovery.
In a veiled criticism of the United States, Xi called for opposing hegemonism and power politics and making the system of global governance fairer and more equitable. He condemned "unilateral sanctions," adding that China opposes the "generalisation of the concept of national security," as per the official statement released by Chinese state-run agency Xinhua.
India has made five new pillars for cooperation in the SCO, which include Startups and Innovation, Traditional Medicine, Youth Empowerment, Digital Inclusion, Shared Buddhist Heritage, PM Modi said at the summit.
He also highlighted the fact that food, fuel and fertilizer crisis is a big challenge for all the countries in the world surrounded by tensions and epidemics.
Speaking about the situation in Afghanistan, the Indian PM said Afghan soil should not be allowed to be used to destabilise its neighbourhood. He also implored member states to work for the welfare of Afghanistan and provide humanitarian aid to the nation.
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