 "SCO summit")
China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Friday called on member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to deepen security cooperation, jointly combat the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism and uphold strategic independence.
In his speech at the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting in Benaulim, Goa, Qin took a veiled dig at the US, saying that the world is faced with multiple crises and challenges featuring a resurgence of the Cold War mentality, headwinds of unilateral protectionism, as well as rising hegemonism and power politics.
He put forward a five-point proposal to build a closer SCO community with a shared future, one of which was that the eight member states should deepen security cooperation and jointly crack down on terrorism.
"The SCO members should continue to jointly crack down on the 'three forces' of terrorism, separatism and extremism, drug trafficking and transnational organised crimes, support Afghanistan in establishing a broadly-based and inclusive political structure and combat any form of terrorism, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted
Qin as saying during the meeting.
Qin's proposal assumed importance as SCO consisting of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan has developed over the years a strong anti-terror force called Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, (RATS) which was regarded as one of the organisation's main strengths.
RATS was regarded as significant as the security concerns in the South and Central Asian region increased after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan following the sudden withdrawal of the US troops amid reports that Al Qaeda and Islamic State militants regrouped in the war-torn country.
Qin said the SCO members should support each other in safeguarding sovereignty, security and development interests, and oppose external forces interfering in regional issues or inciting colour revolutions, he said.
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The SCO members should resolutely oppose any act violating international economic order and market rules, so as to ensure smooth and stable industrial and supply chains, he said.
He said SCO members should uphold fairness and justice, and improve global governance.
He also highlighted Chinese President Xi Jinping's new initiatives Global Development Initiative, (GDI) Global Security Initiative, (GSI) and Global Civilisation Initiative, (GCI).
China is ready to coordinate and cooperate with other SCO members and jointly support the SCO's participation in implementing the major initiatives including that of building a community with a shared future for mankind in order to establish a more just and rational international order, Qin said.
He said that the SCO should develop a vision for long-term development and building mechanisms.
The SCO should complete the process for the memberships of Iran and Belarus in an orderly manner, and enhance the organisation's cohesion and capacity for action, he said.
Qin said China is willing to expand cooperation with other SCO member states, jointly move forward on the path of national development and revitalisation, and work together toward building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Participants at the meeting spoke highly of the contributions to regional security and development made by the SCO as a major regional cooperation platform.
The SCO members said they support Afghanistan in achieving national stability and reconstruction, back the SCO to strengthen cooperation with the United Nations
and BRICS countries, defend the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and uphold multilateralism.
They agreed to further strengthen security cooperation and jointly combat terrorism, separatism, drug production and trafficking, and cyber crimes.
The ministerial meeting made full preparations for the SCO summit to be held in New Delhi this summer.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
