Tashkent: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday called upon the member countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to strengthen and implement all existing international laws and mechanisms, without exceptions or double standards, to combat terrorism and its enablers.
Mr Singh was addressing the 18th meeting of Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of SCO at Tashkent in Uzbekistan as the Special Envoy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Terrorism continues to disrupt our societies and undermine our developmental endeavors. It is important for SCO countries to come together to deal with this menace,” the defence minister said.
He congratulated Russia for successfully holding the SCO joint military exercise ‘CENTER 2019’ in Orenburg aimed at evolving drills of the participating armies in the fight against international terrorism.
He urged the SCO to work together in defeating challenges like terrorism, climate change, endemic poverty, under development, pandemics and inequality.
“I believe this meeting will provide us opportunity to take concrete steps towards achieving our common goals and combined objectives. This meeting in Tashkent, therefore, has considerable significance for the SCO process,” Mr Singh added.
The minister also said, India is honoured to host the next meeting of Council of Heads of Government in 2020.
In the run up to the meeting, he said, India is planning to organise a series of events aimed at enhancing trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation among SCO Members.
Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov, Prime Ministers and Heads of Delegation of SCO Member States, Secretary-General of SCO Vladimir Norov and Executive Director of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Jumakhon Giyosov also participated in the meeting.
