At SCO meet, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu tears into Pakistan over its support to terrorism

SOURCE: Times Now

Addressing a virtual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Monday, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu hit out at the countries which continue to use terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Though the Vice President did not name Pakistan in his remarks during the 19th meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government, the reference was amply clear.

Naidu said India condemns terrorism in all its manifestations and described terrorism as the “most important challenge” faced by the countries in the region.

Chairing the meeting, the Vice President stressed on the collective need to combat “scourge of terrorism”.

“The most important challenge faced by us is terrorism, particularly cross-border terrorism. India condemns terrorism in all its manifestations. We are particularly concerned about states that leverage terrorism as an instrument of their state policy,” the Vice President stated.

The VP slammed Pakistan, again while choosing to not name it, for raking up bilateral issues during past SCO meets.

“It’s 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,” he stated.

It is for the first time that India is chairing a summit-level meeting of the SCO since it gained full-membership of organisation.

“Relations between India and the 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,” Naidu said in his address to the SCO meet.

The VP highlighted India’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, especially the resilience shown in ensuring economic stability.

“India has bravely fought the 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 noted.

“During the chairmanship of our tenure, we’ve 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,” he said further.

The Vice President said that India will host an SCO Food Festival next year to commemorate the 20th anniversary of SCO.  

“I would like to extend an invitation all member states to participate in this event,” he stated.

from Indian Defence Research Wing https://ift.tt/36mjzMA
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