External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday formally submitted an application for full membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on behalf of India at the SCO Heads of State Summit 2014.
Addressing the chairman at the summit, Swaraj said, "Our Government is ready to step up its engagement with the SCO and contribute more meaningfully to its activities. In keeping with this objective, we have submitted our formal application for the full membership of the SCO to the current SCO Chair. We hope to lay the foundation of a new relationship with the SCO region which will draw strength from our ancient links, while preparing us together to address the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century."
Swaraj also said, "India has closely followed the evolution of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. We deeply appreciate the SCO's constructive and valuable role in promoting peace and prosperity in our region. We admire its contribution both to regional economic development and regional stability. We have strong and friendly relations with every country of the SCO family, and have proactively participated in various SCO fora. For instance, Indian businessmen participated in the SCO business forum for the first time two days ago."
"This year, we also participated in the first meeting of the SCO energy club. We are also greatly encouraged by the visit of the dynamic SCO Secretary General to New Delhi in February this year, when he persuaded us to participate in more SCO events. Following that, India also participated usefully, in the meeting of National Coordinators of SCO Member States, where Observers were invited for the first time in the 6 + 5 format," Swaraj added.
Hoping to bring to the table, India's technical expertise, markets and financial commitment, all of which equip the nation to fulfill greater responsibilities in this forum, Swaraj said that the country wants to specifically to share its experience in economic areas like banking, capital markets and micro-finance.
"India has articulated a 'Connect-Central Asia' policy in recent years, to realize our vision of a region connected closely by its common aspiration for a better life for its peoples. India is already engaged with several SCO member states in diverse areas such as capacity building and human resource development, information technology, pharmaceuticals and health care, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurship development," said Swaraj.
In the end she congratulated the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on taking over the chairmanship of this important organisation and wished him all success in organising SCO's activities in the years ahead.
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Swaraj had arrived in Dushanbe yesterday, to attend the two-day summit.
The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) aims at boosting cooperation in the three major fields of economy, security and people-to-people exchanges.
Tajikistan is hosting the 13th annual summit for all member countries with security being its priority.
Countries like India, Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia are due to become full participating members of the summit, thereby upgrading their observer member status.
