Page 5 - Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Two-sided triangle

The SCO summit is a good moment to take stock of how the strategic situation has changed. While India's power has grown phenomenally in 10 years, it remains caught in the China-Pakistan pincer

SCO Summit 2023: India, Russia resolve to strengthen defence cooperation

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart, General Sergei Shoigu, vowed on Friday to strengthen the India-Russia military partnership while expressing satisfaction over the continued trust and mutual respect in the ties. Singh and Shoigu held extensive talks, covering the regional security situation and key aspects of bilateral defence relations, including industrial partnership, at a meeting on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) here. An Indian readout of the meeting said the two ministers also discussed the Russian defence industry's participation in the "Make in India" initiative in the defence manufacturing sector and ways to provide further impetus to it. It said Singh and Shoigu discussed matters relating to regional peace and security as well. "They expressed satisfaction over the continued trust and mutual respect between the two countries, particularly in defence, and reiterated their commitment towards strengthening

Need to erase terrorism, fix liability of supporters: Rajnath at SCO meet

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday urged the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member nations to collectively work towards eliminating terrorism in all its forms and fix accountability on its supporters, in an oblique reference to Pakistan. Chairing a conclave of defence ministers from SCO countries, Singh said India envisioned a robust framework of regional cooperation which "mutually respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member states by taking care of their legitimate interests". With Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu listening, Singh also said that New Delhi strives to further bolster trust and cooperation among the members of the grouping as it believes in maintaining peace and security based on the provisions of the UN charter. Elaborating on the need to contain terrorism effectively, Singh asserted that any kind of terrorist act or support to it in any form is a major crime against humanity and peace and prosperity cannot coexist with this ..

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to attend SCO meeting in Goa

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in India early next month, Russian officials said on Thursday. India is hosting the meeting of foreign ministers of the SCO countries in Goa on May 4 and 5. "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states in India," a Russian official said. "There will also be an exchange of views on topical issues of the international and regional agenda," the official said. In addition, the Russian foreign minister will have a number of bilateral meetings, he added. The SCO member countries are Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, India, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

All issues at LAC need to be resolved as per existing pacts: Rajnath Singh

Singh said this at a bilateral meeting with Li amid the three-year border row along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained ties between the two sides

Rajnath Singh to chair SCO defence ministers' meeting in Delhi on Friday

The fast evolving regional security situation, developments in Afghanistan and ways to boost cooperation in effectively combating terrorism and extremism are set to be the key focus of a conclave of the defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Delhi on Friday. Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, Tajikistan's Colonel General Sherali Mirzo, Iran's Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiyani and Kazakhstan's Colonel General Ruslan Zhaksylykov have already arrived in the national capital. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his counterparts from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are also attending the meeting to be chaired by Rajnath Singh. Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif is set to attend the meeting through virtual mode. Officials involved in preparations for the meeting said the main focus of the deliberations will be on regional security situations including the developments in Afghanistan. They said enhancing coordination among the SCO memb

Rajnath Singh to chair SCO Defence ministers' meeting on April 28

India considers SCO as an important regional group to promote multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions in the region

India asks for cooperation among SCO members to deal with global challenges

Amid fears of a global recession, India on Wednesday underlined the need for greater cooperation among Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members for combating challenges relating to food and energy security. Addressing the Council Meet of the SCO Inter-bank Consortium (IBC), Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi said as part of India's contribution to mitigating the above challenges, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched global mission LIFE' which stands for Lifestyle for Environment. LIFE envisions replacing the prevalent 'use-and-dispose' economygoverned by mindless and destructive consumptionwith a circular economy, which would be defined by mindful utilization of resources, he said in his inaugural address. "Today, when the world is facing challenges of a looming economic recession, a closer cooperation among SCO member states shall play a pivotal role in combating global challenges such as food and energy security concerns," he said. Observing that India is incli

India may propose mutual settlements in local currencies at SCO IBC meeting

The move will enable the infrastructure projects to be cost efficient as the import component of the infrastructure projects will become relatively cheap with the settlement in the Rupee

Chinese defence minister to visit India this week to attend SCO meet

China on Tuesday announced that its Defence Minister General Li Shangfu will visit India this week to attend the meeting of SCO defence ministers from April 27 during which he is expected to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on ending the prolonged eastern Ladakh standoff which has severely strained bilateral ties. Considered a close associate of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Gen. Li's India visit is regarded significant as it comes amid the vexed standoff between the armies of India and China in eastern Ladakh since May 2020. Upon invitation, Chinese State Councillor and Defence Minister General Li Shangfu will attend the meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in New Delhi, India, from April 27-28, China's Ministry of National Defence (MND) said in a statement. During the meeting, General Li will address the conference and meet with the heads of delegations from relevant countries to ...

India attaches special importance to SCO in promoting dialogue: Amit Shah

India attaches special importance to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in promoting dialogue on multi-dimensional political, security and economic subjects, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday. He said this while chairing a meeting of Heads of Departments of SCO member states responsible for Prevention and Elimination of Emergency Situations in New Delhi. He said India's priority as the chair of the SCO is to take forward the SECURE theme articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Qingdao Summit of the grouping in 2018. SECURE stands S - Security, E - Economic Cooperation, C - Connectivity, U - Unity, R - Respect For Sovereignty and Integrity and E - Environment Protection. Under the leadership of Modi, India attaches special importance to the SCO in promoting dialogue on the subject relating to multi-dimensional political, security and economic subjects, an official statement said. Shah said India attaches special importance to disaster risk reduction

Amit Shah chairs SCO meet on prevention, elimination of emergency situation

During the meeting, delegates from SCO member states shared information relating to large-scale emergency situations which occurred in their respective territories

Bilawal Bhutto to attend SCO meeting in India in May: Pak's Foreign Office

Pakistan announced on Thursday that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would participate in the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) meeting in India next month. Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch announced it at a weekly media briefing here. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5, 2023, in Goa, India, she said, ending weeks-long speculation if he would attend the conference in-person. She said the Pakistan foreign minister would be attending the meeting as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had invited him to attend the SCO moot. Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan's commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities, Baloch said. It would be the highest level visit to India by any Pakistani leader in recent years and a possible opportunity to break the ice between the

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India to host SCO-National Security Advisors meet; Pak, China may join

India, as the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), is set to host a meeting of National Security Advisors (NSA) and top officials in New Delhi on Wednesday

Pakistan, China may not join SCO NSAs meet physically, to attend virtually

India will emphasise optimising the use of Iran's Chabahar Port and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as inclusive connectivity initiatives for Eurasia

Pakistan's Chief Justice to skip SCO meeting hosted by India: Report

Pakistan on Thursday announced it's decision to skip the meeting of Chief Justices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) scheduled in New Delhi from March 10-12, reported The Express Tribune

At SCO meeting, India refuses to endorse Prez Xi's Belt and Road Initiative

India on Tuesday once again refused to endorse Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) during a meeting of the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), saying connectivity projects should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states. In a joint communique issued at the end of the 21st Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of SCO member states chaired by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang via video link, India's name was not among the member states that supported the BRI. Like in the previous SCO meetings, India refrained from supporting China's BRI. "Reaffirming their support" for China's BRI initiative, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan "noted the ongoing work to jointly implement this project, including efforts to link the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union and BRI," the communique said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who attended the virtual meeting, earlie

US-India in talks to reduce country's dependence on Russian arms, energy

Russia is "no longer a reliable weapons supplier", and Indians are "coming to understand" that they could benefit from finding other suppliers, an official of the US State Department said

Varanasi declared as first ever SCO tourist, cultural capital: Official

The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Friday endorsed the holy city of Varanasi as the first ever tourist and cultural capital of the grouping for the year 2022-23. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said this at a media briefing. The Indian delegation at the SCO summit in this historic Uzbek city of Samarkand was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Uzbekistan handed over the rotating presidency of the grouping to India for the year 2022-23. "Prime Minister Modi thanked all the member states for endorsing Varanasi as the first ever SCO tourist and cultural capital during the upcoming year 2022-23," Kwatra said. "This is a befitting recognition of the historic city and opens the door for greater cultural and people-to-people ties between India and the region," he said. The foreign secretary said several events would be organised by the Uttar Pradesh government in collaboration with the Centre to celebrate this recognition of Varanasi. Kwatra said the SCO also