Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing at SCO Summit via video conferencing on July 04, 2023.
New Delhi: As Iran joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) today, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his congratulations to President Ebrahim Raisi and the people of Iran on this occasion while addressing the 23rd SCO Summit today.
“Following Iran’s membership in the SCO, we can work towards maximizing the utilization of the Chabahar Port. The International North-South Transport Corridor can serve as a secure and efficient route for landlocked countries in Central Asia to access the Indian Ocean. We should strive to realize its full potential,” Modi said.
Modi also welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Obligation for Belarus’ SCO membership and said the interest of other countries in joining SCO “is a testament to the importance of this organization”. In this process, he said, it was essential for SCO to maintain its primary focus on the interests and aspirations of the Central Asian countries.
The SCO represents approximately 40 per cent of the world’s population and nearly one-third of the global economy and today’s online meeting took place under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of India. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev also took part in the meeting.
The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, and the President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh were invited to take part in the meeting as heads of the SCO observer states. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov was invited as a guest of the presiding party. Besides, heads of the SCO permanent bodies and heads of delegations from certain invited international organisations and associations also attended the summit.
As the Chairperson of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Modi said India has made continuous efforts to take multi-dimensional cooperation to new heights. “We have based all these efforts on two fundamental principles. Firstly, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” which means the whole world is one family… [and] SECURE, which stands for Security, Economic development, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environmental protection,” he said.
Russian President Putin appreciated the work done by the Indian chairmanship in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. He also thanked the member states who expressed their “support for the Russian leadership in defending the constitutional order, lives and security of its citizen”. He noted that Russia’s trade with SCO member states increased by over one-third, or 37 per cent, reaching a record high of US$263 billion last year. From January to April this year, it went up by another 35 per cent.
“We are making wider use of national currencies for mutual settlements. In particular, over 80 per cent of commercial transactions between Russia and the People’s Republic of China are made in rubles and yuan. The share of the Russian national currency in export transactions with all the SCO countries exceeded 40 per cent in 2022,” Putin said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that the SCO scale up local currency settlement between member states, expand cooperation on sovereign digital currency, and promote the establishment of an SCO development bank.
Jinping also thanked Modi for hosting the event as the current president of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Modi recounted that under India’s chairmanship, more than one hundred forty programmes, conferences, and meetings within the SCO have been hosted. “We have actively involved all Observer and Dialogue Partners of the SCO in fourteen different programs. In the fourteen Ministerial-level meetings of the SCO, we have collectively prepared several important documents. With these we are adding new and modern dimensions to our cooperation like cooperation on emerging fuels in the energy sector, collaboration on decarbonization in the transportation sector and digital transformation, and cooperation in the field of digital public infrastructure,” he said.
India has made efforts to ensure that cooperation within the SCO is not limited to governments alone. Under India’s chairmanship, new initiatives have been taken to enhance contact and engagement among people. For the first time, the SCO Millet Food Festival, Film Festival, SCO Surajkund Craft Mela, Think Tanks Conference, and International Conference on Shared Buddhist Heritage were organized.
Modi today offered to share India’s Artificial Intelligence-based language platform, Bhashini, with the member nations to remove language barriers within the SCO. “This can serve as an example of digital technology for inclusive growth,” he said. He added that SCO can also become an important voice for reforms in global institutions, including the United Nations.
The Prime Minister reflected on the theme of India’s chairmanship and the vision of its SCO, and said with this perspective, India established five new pillars of cooperation within the Organisation – startups and innovation, traditional medicine, youth empowerment, digital inclusion, and shared Buddhist heritage.
“We should collectively ponder upon whether we are capable, as an organization, of fulfilling the aspirations and expectations of our people,” he said and asked whether SCO was equipped to tackle modern-day challenges, and was evolving into an organization that was fully prepared for the future.
“In this regard, India supports proposals for reforms and modernization within the SCO,” he said.
Modi also raised the issues of terrorism and exhorted SCO members to criticise those countries that use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies and provide shelter to terrorists. “There should be no place for double standards on such serious matters. We need to enhance mutual cooperation in dealing with terror financing as well,” he said. Calling for proactive steps to prevent the spread of radicalization among our youth, he welcomed the joint statement issued today on the subject of radicalization, which he said, “symbolizes our shared commitment”.
Modi further expressed India’s concerns and expectations regarding Afghanistan and said the situation there had directly impacted the security of the SCO nations. “It is important that Afghanistan’s territory is not used to spread instability in neighbouring countries or to encourage extremist ideologies,” he stressed.
The Prime Minister also identified food, fuel, and fertilizer crises as significant challenges for all nations.
Following the meeting, the leaders signed the New Delhi Declaration, which outlines goals and tasks related to the further comprehensive development of SCO members’ interaction and consolidated approaches to relevant international issues and adopted a package of documents. In particular, the SCO Heads of State Council approved the SCO Economic Development Strategy to 2030; and announced the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan, as the SCO Cultural and Tourism Capital in 2023–2024. It may be mentioned that Varanasi was the first SCO Cultural and Tourism Capital.
In addition, the SCO Heads of State Council approved the Concept of Cooperation between the member states to decarbonise transport and promote digital transformation and innovative technologies to achieve greater efficiency and sustainability.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev today became the next chairman of the Heads of State Council.
– global bihari bureau
