SCO Summit: PM Modi warns against ‘double standards’ on terrorism, pitches open trade

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday issued a strong warning against “double standards” on terrorism at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, and pitched for efforts to connect markets, facilitate trade and open new pathways for development.

The Prime Minister called for dismantling the "entire ecosystem of terrorism", including its financing, recruitment, radicalisation and safe havens, asserting that there can be no "double standards" in the fight against terrorism.

Addressing the 26th SCO Summit, Modi said terrorism remains a "grave challenge to all of humanity" and stressed that the fight against it cannot be limited to a mindset of "action-reaction".


ALSO READ | PM Modi turns 7.8% growth cue into a fresh swadeshi pitch

"We must dismantle the entire ecosystem of terrorism--its financing, recruitment, radicalization, and safe havens. We must speak in one voice that there can be no place for double standards on this serious issue," he said.

"Those countries that use terrorism as an instrument of their policy, and provide shelter and support to terrorists, must be sent a strong message that terrorism cannot be a 'strategic asset' for anyone," the Prime Minister added.

PM Modi said peace and security remain the first pillar of India's vision for the SCO, alongside "Connectivity" and "Opportunity".

"Our shared aspiration for a peaceful and secure Eurasia is also linked to peace and stability in Afghanistan," he said, adding that India has been contributing to the development and humanitarian assistance of the people of Afghanistan and will continue to do so.

On the West Asia crisis, PM Modi said conflict in one region does not remain confined there and its impact is felt on "energy security, maritime trade, and supply chains of the entire world".

"The countries of the Global South have to bear the maximum brunt of this. Therefore, India's call has been that the solution to all tensions and wars is not possible on the battlefield, but only through Dialogue and Diplomacy," he said.

The Prime Minister also flagged drug trafficking as a serious threat to the younger generation and regional security, calling for stronger cooperation through SCO mechanisms dealing with security threats, organised crime, information security and narcotics.

"We must make them effective mediums for practical coordination and timely action," PM Modi said.

PM Modi called for the beneifts of SCO cooperation reaching people directly and placing peopl-to-people ties at the centre of this cooperation.

"The benefits of SCO cooperation should reach our people directly. Our greatest capital is the ties among our people. For India, the SCO is a confluence of great civilisations, cultures and ideas. In the next twenty-five years of the SCO, people-to-people ties should be placed at the centre of our cooperation. The true measure of our success should be how many new opportunities our efforts have created for young people, how many new markets have opened up for our entrepreneurs, how much our farmers have benefited from technology, and how much better the lives of our citizens have become. This is the true meaning of "Security, Connectivity and Opportunity," he said.

Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov is hosting the SCO summit and serving as its chairman.

Alongwith Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon are also present at the SCO gathering.

The 26th SCO Leadership Summit brings together 10 member states, 15 partner countries and two observer countries to advance dialogue and cooperation on regional and global issues.