SCO meet: Afghanistan shows radicalisation key threat to peace, says PM

SCO members reaffirm they will oppose practices that threaten global economy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the recent developments in Afghanistan have demonstrated that increasing radicalisation was the “root cause” of biggest challenges relating to peace and security in the region and pitched for developing a common template by the SCO to deal with these challenges.

Speaking at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State, Modi also called for enhancing connectivity between land-locked Central Asia and India and noted that such projects should be transparent and respect the territorial integrity of all countries, in comments that came amid growing criticism of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In his virtual address at the meeting, held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in a hybrid format — virtual as well as in-person, the Prime Minister talked about Sufism and cultural heritage of Central Asia and said the SCO should develop a common template to fight radicalisation and extremism on the basis of the historical heritage of the region. “The 20th anniversary of the SCO is also a suitable occasion to think about the future of the SCO. I believe that the biggest challenges in this area are related to peace, security and trust-deficit and the root cause of these problems is increasing radicalisation,” the Prime Minister said.

The recent developments in Afghanistan have made this challenge more apparent and the SCO should take an initiative on this issue, he asserted.

“If we look at the history, we will find that the region of Central Asia has been a bastion of moderate and progressive cultures and values. Traditions like Sufism have flourished here over the centuries and spread throughout the region and the world,” the Prime Minister said.

“We can still see their influence in the cultural heritage of this region. On the basis of this historical heritage of Central Asia, SCO should develop a common template to fight radicalisation and extremism,” he said. “In India, and almost in all SCO countries, there are moderate, tolerant and inclusive institutions and traditions associated with Islam. SCO should work to develop a strong network between them.”

On trade

Members of the SCO reaffirmed to uphold and strengthen a transparent, inclusive and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system and oppose unilateral protectionist measures that undermine and threaten the global economy. The members “will consistently uphold and strengthen an open, transparent, equitable, inclusive and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system based on the principles and rules of the WTO, promote an open global economy and oppose unilateral protectionist measures that undermine the multilateral trading system and threaten the global economy,” it said.