Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
India on Tuesday said its priorities were reflected in the Bishkek Declaration adopted at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, with the Ministry of External Affairs highlighting 13 outcomes ranging from stronger action against terrorism and transnational crime to cooperation in energy, climate change and artificial intelligence.
The ministry said the declaration echoed India’s focus on fighting terrorism, deepening youth and scientific cooperation, and promoting dialogue based on the idea of ‘One Earth. One Family. One Future’. It said the outcomes would also help India strengthen its engagement with Central Asia and the wider Eurasian region.
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According to the MEA, SCO member states reaffirmed their commitment to combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, and stressed that attempts to exploit terrorist, separatist and extremist groups for mercenary purposes were inadmissible. They also strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, said ‘double standards’ in the fight against terrorism were unacceptable, and called for international efforts to tackle terrorism, including the cross-border movement of terrorists.
Among the outcomes listed by the MEA was approval of regulations for a Universal Centre for Countering Challenges and Threats to the Security of SCO Member States. The ministry said the centre is expected to strengthen cooperation among SCO members in dealing with terrorism, extremism, organised crime and other transnational threats, while improving coordination and information-sharing. The decision came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the summit in the presence of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders, urged the SCO to act against countries using terrorism as an ‘instrument of state policy’. ‘We must send a strong message to countries that use terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide safe haven and support to terrorists that terrorism can never be a strategic asset for anyone,’ Modi said. He also called on the grouping to work unitedly to ‘dismantle the entire ecosystem’ of terrorist financing, recruitment, radicalisation and safe havens, and to reject ‘double standards’ in the fight against terrorism.
The MEA said the Bishkek Declaration would give India a platform to put forward its positions on regional security, development and connectivity. It also pointed to an amendment to the SCO Charter to include English as an official and working language of the grouping, and a protocol on amendments and additions to the charter that would enable India to take part in shaping the organisation’s evolving institutional framework. Founded in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the SCO has since expanded to include India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus as full members. The grouping, which focuses on security, counter-terrorism and economic and political cooperation, marked its 25th anniversary this year at the summit held under Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship.
The ministry also highlighted approval of regulations for the executive committee of the SCO Anti-Narcotics Centre, which it said would help closer coordination against cross-border narcotics trafficking and narco-terrorism. It listed two programmes running up to 2030 — one on combating drug addiction through the exchange of best practices in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and another on the spread of synthetic drugs and their precursors to improve information-sharing and operational coordination among enforcement agencies. Other outcomes included statements on energy conservation and energy efficiency, and on the development of energy systems, which the MEA said would support the exchange of technology, experience and best practices and cooperation in modernising and strengthening the resilience of energy systems. It also highlighted an SCO statement on assisting states affected by emergencies, aimed at sharing expertise and building capacity in disaster management and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and a protocol to amend the 2010 agreement on cooperation among SCO governments in combating crime to strengthen coordination against organised and cross-border crime.
The MEA further listed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in combating climate change, which it said would provide a platform for work on adaptation and mitigation, climate-resilient development and technology. It also highlighted an MoU between authorised agencies of SCO member states on cooperation in the field of information to promote institutional exchanges and wider dissemination of India’s perspectives and initiatives within the SCO information space, and an MoU on cooperation in artificial intelligence to allow India to share its digital and AI experience, promote responsible and inclusive use of AI, and expand technology and innovation partnerships within the grouping. The ministry said the Bishkek Declaration also called for stronger scientific, technical and innovation cooperation through greater involvement of young people and regular meetings of the SCO Young Scientists Forum, an Indian initiative. It added that leaders welcomed the decision to hold the SCO Civilisation Dialogue Forum in India in autumn, and agreed to further youth cooperation while noting the contribution of the SCO Young Authors Conference, another Indian initiative.
Overall, India said the outcomes adopted at the SCO summit reflected its priorities across counter-terrorism, regional cooperation, youth and scientific exchanges, and collaboration in areas such as energy, climate change, disaster response, information and artificial intelligence.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
