New Delhi: Stating that terrorism continues to be overwhelming threat to security and stability in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), India on Wednesday called for collective action to maintain peace and tranquility in the region.
Being the current Chair of SCO, Russia on Wednesday convened the video conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of SCO Member States in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also underlined that the security challenges “we face today are not linked by physical or political boundaries.”
The video conference was centered around COVID-19 crisis and coordination of the efforts to deal with its trade, economic and social consequences.
Reaffirming India’s strong commitment to the joint fight against Covid-19 pandemic and its readiness to share information, expertise and best practices to the Member States, Mr Jaishankar emphasized that New Delhi attaches great importance to its relations with SCO and has contributed positively to enhance its role in the global arena since its inclusion as full member in 2017.
He also assured that India will continue to maintain extensive engagement towards strengthening SCO’s potential in ensuring mutually beneficial development.
The minister also highlighted the initiatives and various decisive steps taken by India in the wake of the pandemic, including 266 dollars billion economic package announced on Tuesday.
Further, Mr Jaishankar indicated that India is committed to work towards creation of a favorable environment for mutually beneficial trade-economic cooperation among the member nations.
The SCO Foreign Ministers also discussed the preparations for the SCO Council of Heads of State Meeting (SCO Summit) in Saint Petersburg, the situation in Afghanistan and the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of World War II, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO Member States approved and adopted a Statement on the pandemic coronavirus (COVID-19) at the end of the meeting.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired the meeting.
Besides Mr Jaishankar, foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan also participated in the video conferencing.
Secretary General of SCO Vladimir Norov and Director of the Executive Committee of SCO RATS Jumakhon Giyosov also attended the meeting.
