During a meeting of the council of heads of government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), India on Monday launched a thinly veiled attack on Pakistan for using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and called for collective efforts to combat the threat.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, who chaired the council’s virtual meeting, also indirectly criticized Pakistan for trying to use the SCO to raise bilateral issues, saying this went against the group’s charter, which safeguards the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan. member states.
In his opening remarks, Naidu noted the importance of efforts to drive economic recovery amid the Covid-19 pandemic and tacitly attacked the China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), saying that trust itself It alone determines the sustainability of world trade and that countries must demonstrate their compliance with the rules of multilateral trade.
The council of heads of government is the second highest body of the OCS and is responsible for managing the commercial and economic agenda of the group and approving its annual budget. This is the first time that India has hosted a meeting of the body since it was admitted to the eight-member group in 2017.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan did not join the virtual meeting. Pakistan’s turnout was at the lowest level – the country was represented by Parliamentary Foreign Secretary Andleeb Abbas – and Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were represented by its prime ministers.
Naidu said that trade can only flourish in an environment of peace and security, and that the most important challenge facing countries in the region is terrorism, “particularly cross-border terrorism.” He described terrorism as “the enemy of humanity” that must be fought collectively.
“India condemns terrorism in all its manifestations. We remain concerned about the threats that arise from ungoverned spaces and we are particularly concerned about states that harness terrorism as an instrument of state policy, ”he said, without naming Pakistan.
“This approach is totally against the spirit and ideas and the statutes of the SCO. Removing this threat will help us all to realize our shared potential and create the conditions for stable and secure economic growth and sustainable development. ”
Naidu said the SCO is key to cooperation based on universally recognized international standards, the rule of law, openness and transparency and it is “regrettable … that there have been attempts to deliberately bring bilateral issues to the SCO and blatantly violate the well-established principles and standards of the SCO charter that safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the SCO member states ”.
Pakistan has repeatedly tried to raise bilateral issues such as the Kashmir issue in multilateral forums and India withdrew from a virtual meeting of SCO national security advisers in September after the Pakistani representative projected a map that incorrectly depicted the borders of the countries. two countries.
Naidu said that the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Sufficient India) initiative aims to develop national economic strength, resilience and capacity enhancement so that the country can be a reliable partner. The initiative recognizes the importance of reciprocity, transparency and fairness in trade and is critical to collective efforts to overcome vulnerabilities exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
“The partners must be trustworthy and transparent. It is trust that determines the sustainability of our global trade and nations must demonstrate their compliance with the rules of multilateral trade to remain part of this system, ”he said.
Naidu also highlighted India’s role in the production of more than 60% of the vaccines used for global immunization programs and said: “This global vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all countries combat this. crisis”.
He noted that the socio-political impact of Covid-19 had exposed the weaknesses of global institutions, including the WHO, which must be renewed as part of a reformed multilateralism that reflects current realities and gives voice to all stakeholders.
.
