External Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday emphasized the importance of genuine partnerships and peace and stability for development and growth at SCO Summit.
External Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday emphasized the importance of genuine partnerships and peace and stability for development and growth at the 23rd Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government in Islamabad, Pakistan. He stated that activities across borders characterized by terrorism and extremism hinder trade, energy flows, and connectivity.
EAM Dr S Jaishankar addresses 23rd Meeting of SCO Council at Islamabad
“Our endeavors will progress only when our commitment to the Charter remains firm. It is axiomatic that development and growth requires peace and stability. As the Charter spelt out, this means being firm and uncompromising in countering the ‘three evils’,” S Jaishankar said.
“If activities across borders are characterized by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges in parallel,” he added.
The minister also stressed the need for comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council to ensure representation of developing countries. He noted that the SCO should advocate for this change, promoting a more representative, inclusive, and democratic Security Council.
It is the first time in nearly nine years that India’s foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbors remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
S Jaishankar is leading the Indian delegation at the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) summit on Wednesday.
SCO Summit in Pakistan
The two-day meeting of SCO CHG, the second highest forum within the SCO, will be chaired by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the current chair of the Council.
Pakistan had assumed the rotating chair of the SCO CHG for 2023-24 at the previous meeting held in Bishkek on October 26, 2023, where the country was represented by then interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a permanent intergovernmental international organization established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
