Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that a growing interest by other countries in joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an “evidence” of the Eurasian grouping’s “rising influence”.
Addressing the SCO Council of Heads of State Meeting through virtual mode on Tuesday, Modi congratulated Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the formalization of Tehran’s membership as the ninth member of the grouping.
Modi said that Iran’s SCO membership would provide a fillip to efforts to “realize the full potential” of Chabahar port as well Russia-backed International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which he said could provide a safe route for central Asian nations to reach the Indian Ocean.
The Indian leader also “welcomed” the signing of the Memorandum of Obligation by Belarus towards becoming a full-fledged SCO member in the future.
Both Raisi and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko were in attendance at the virtual summit which was also attended by other global leaders—Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as well other those from central Asia.
The SCO virtual summit was also attended by United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Modi noted that the SCO has emerged as an “important platform for peace, prosperity and development throughout the Asian region”.
“With this region, India's thousands of years old cultural and people-to-people ties are a living testament to our shared heritage. We see this area not just as an extended neighborhood, but as an extended family,” Modi remarked.
The Prime Minister said that India’s approach towards the SCO was guided by two principles—‘the world is one family’ and ‘SECURE’, which is an acronym for security, economy and trade, connectivity, unity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and environment.
SCO Could Become an Important Voice for Global Reforms: Modi
The Indian leader expressed hope that the SCO could become an “important voice” for global governance reforms, including those at the UN.
Modi noted that the SCO nations constitute for over 40 percent of the global population and a third of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“At the present time, the global situation is at an important stage. The food, fuel and fertilizer crisis pose a major challenge for all countries in a world beset by disputes, tensions and epidemics,” Modi remarked.
He called upon the SCO states to meet the “expectations and aspirations of our people” in addressing these challenges.
Modi said that India was fully supportive of reforming and modernizing the SCO to meet the challenges of the future.
Modi Expresses Concern over Afghanistan Situation, Terrorism
Prime Minister Modi underlined that the security situation in Afghanistan has had a “direct impact on the security of all of us”.
“India's concerns and expectations about Afghanistan are similar to those of most countries in the SCO,” he remarked.
Modi said that India would continue to work towards providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan and would continue to advocate for formation of an inclusive government and for respect of women and minority rights.
“It is essential that the land of Afghanistan is not used to create instability in neighbouring countries, or to encourage extremist ideologies,” he stated.
The Indian leader also called for a “decisive action” against terrorism, including cross-border terrorism.
“No matter what form of terrorism, in any manifestation, we have to fight it together. Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies. Give shelter to terrorists. The SCO should not hesitate to criticize such countries,” Modi stated, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.
He also said that there should be no place for double standards on the issue of tackling terrorism, which was a reference to Beijing’s veto at UN against New Delhi-backed resolution to blacklist a Pakistan-backed terrorism.
Modi said that Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), a permanent mechanism under SCO, has emerged as an important platform to promote counter-terror cooperation among the member states.