India raises cross-border terrorism issue at SCO meet
Nov 30, 2020
New Delhi [India], November 30 : Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said on Monday that terrorism remained the biggest regional threat and that India condemns terrorism in all its manifestations but is particularly concerned about countries which use terror as an instrument of state policy.
Naidu was chairing the council of heads of states for this year's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. This year's the summit is being held virtually.
"The most important challenge faced by us is terrorism, particularly cross-border terrorism...India condemns terrorism in all its manifestation. We are particularly concerned about states that leverage terrorism as an instrument of their state policy," he said addressing the 19th meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government through video conferencing.
Alluding to Pakistan raising bilateral issues at SCO, Naidu said this is against the spirit of the multilateral fora.
He further said, "It is unfortunate to note that there had been attempts to deliberately bring bilateral issues into SCO and blatantly violate well-established principles and norms of SCO charter. Such acts are counterproductive to the spirit of consensus that defined SCO."
This is the first time that the summit-level meeting is being held under India's Chairmanship since the country gained full membership of the organisation.
"During the chairmanship of our tenure, we have proposed to create a special working group on start-ups and innovations. India has created robust dynamic environment for start-ups. India made an offer to annually host special working group for start-ups," Naidu said.
He further said, "Relations between India and SCO region have flourished uninterrupted for thousands of years. By 2025, India's GDP is expected to reach 5 trillion. It will be the youngest nation with an average age of 29 years."
Speaking on the coronavirus pandemic, the Vice President said that India has shown "resilience" and ensured the economic stability of the country, which has been recognised in the global community.
"India has bravely fought global pandemic and has shown remarkable resilience in fighting the virus as well as ensuring economic stability. India has kept its Covid-19 death rate at the lowest level in the world. India's efforts have found global recognition," he said.
During the meet, India also extended an invitation to the SCO member states for SCO Food Festival.
"To commemorate 20th anniversary of SCO in 2021, India will also be hosting SCO Food Festival in India. I would like to extend an invitation all member states to participate in this event," Naidu said.
India assumed the Chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government on November 2, 2019, as per rotation from the previous Chair - Uzbekistan and will complete its year-long tenure on November 30, 2020, by hosting the 19th session of the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG).
